Confessions
by Agarest
Summary: Naruto defeated Pain and saved Konoha; but his troubles aren't over yet. There's Hinata's confession, his lingering feelings for Sakura, the comatose Hokage and a friend that he has yet to bring back home.M for lemons. NaruHina w/ other couples. Complete
1. What it meant to you

**My first ever NaruHina fanfic! Hope you like it! **

**Edited the chapter, longer and hopefully better! Enjoy!**

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It had been a week since Pain destroyed Konoha. The reconstruction of the village was almost complete thanks to everyone pitching in on its recovery. Most of the injured from the battle had all healed, except for one person; Hinata Hyuuga. She lay in her hospital bed and stared at the ceiling, still thinking back to the battle's events. About Pain, about how she had fought him, and how she had confessed her love to Naruto. She blushed when she thought of her confession and looked to her side; at the vase of lavender left by Naruto. Every day that she had been in hospital, Naruto visited to check up on her and tell her about what he had been doing all day. Also, for every time he visited her, he left her a stem of lavender. The reason that he told her was that the smell of them would help her heal faster, but the real reason was that lavender was now his favourite flower because it reminded him of her own lavender colour eyes. She sat up in the bed and began to twiddle her thumbs nervously. She felt fine, well enough to leave the hospital, but the nurses insisted that she stay for the rest of the weekend in case anything turned up. She checked the clock on the wall in front of her. Naruto always came at 5:00 every day to see her, and the clock showed that it was 4:58, so he would be here soon. She blushed as she found herself thinking of him, so instead tried to think of things to talk to him about; but she knew it was pointless since Naruto never let her get a word in unless he asked her a question. Not that she minded, but she really wanted to talk to him about her confession and if he felt the same way about her.

"_What am I thinking? Naruto could never like a girl like me..."_ She thought to herself, sighing as she let herself fall back onto her pillow. As soon as her head hit her pillow, her door swung open, revealing a young, blonde ninja with a huge grin.

"Hey Hinata!" Naruto shouted as he walked into the room, closing the door behind him.

"H-Hello N-Naruto..." Hinata mumbled, blushing as she looked down at her lap and twiddled her thumbs. Naruto scratched the back of his head and chuckled sheepishly.

"_Why does she always do that? Not that I mind, she does look quite cute..."_ Naruto thought to himself, but blushed when he caught himself staring at the raven haired Hyuuga. He smiled as he walked around her bed and placed another stem of lavender in her vase, and then took his usual seat; the bottom of her bed. She blushed as she felt Naruto brush against her feet, as he crossed his legs and smiled at her, his ocean blue eyes looking into her pale, lavender ones.

"So! How've ya been?" Naruto asked, leaning forward so he could hear her almost mute reply.

"G-G-Good thanks... Y-You?" Hinata mumbled, blushing deeper as she felt the blonde lean in closer to her.

"Well..." Naruto smiled as he started to tell her all about that day's events and some funny incidents that involved Sai and a bucket of paint; however, they were interrupted when Sakura walked in.

"NARUTO! How many times have I told you not to sit on a patient's bed? If you want to be in a hospital bed I can gladly arrange that for you!" She shouted as she stormed over to Naruto, pulling him off of the bed with his ear.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Naruto whimpered as rubbed his face that was red from landing on the floor.

"N-Naruto! Are you okay?" Hinata asked wide eyed, bringing up her hand to cover her mouth. Sakura turned and smiled at Hinata, waving her hand dismissively at Naruto.

"Ah he'll be fine! Anyway, I was just about to tell you that you can go, the other nurses wanted you to stay for the weekend but you seem fine so..." She smiled at Hinata.

"Thank you!" Hinata smiled, relieved that she could finally leave the hospital.

"That's great news!" Naruto shouted, standing up in excitement "How about we get some ramen to celebrate Hinata?" Hinata blushed deeply as she slowly nodded and started to fidget with her fingers again.

"_A date with Naruto!" _Hinata mentally cheered.

"Idiot! You can't have ramen on your first date!" Sakura shouted, clenching her hand into a fist at him. Naruto jumped back and raised his hands defensively.

"A date? It's just to celebrate Hinata getting better!" Naruto exclaimed, looking at Hinata "Right?"

"I-I.. guess so..." Hinata mumbled as her shoulders sagged and she stopped fidgeting with her thumbs, depression hitting her.

"_I knew it; Naruto would never ask me out on a date..." _ Hinata thought, mentally beating herself up.

"H-Hinata?" Naruto asked concernedly as he reached out for the depressed slump that was Hinata, but stopped as Sakura buried her fist into his head.

"Idiot! Don't you ever consider a girl's feelings?" Sakura shouted, storming out of the room. Naruto rubbed his head, wincing at the pain.

"_What did I do now?" _Naruto thought to himself, trying to figure out what he had done wrong. He began mumbling to himself about how weird women can be, and then turned to Hinata.

"If you don't want to I'll understand Hinata" Naruto sighed, looking at the floor dejectedly as he scratched the back of his head slowly.

"O-Of course I'll eat ramen with you!" she exclaimed in a higher volume than usual, making Naruto jump. Hinata blushed, embarrassed at her outburst as Naruto laughed and smiled at her, scratching the back of his head.

"Then let's go! Ramen on me!" He grinned. After Hinata got discharged, they went straight to Ichiraku's, Naruto talking excitedly as Hinata listened attentively, smiling as she walked by his side.

"After you" said Naruto, lifting the veil entrance to Ichiraku's for her to walk through. She blushed and smiled, entering and sitting down at the bar, Naruto sitting next to her.

"Welcome Naruto!" Ichiraku greeted "And if it isn't Hinata! Finally on that date you've been wishing for eh?" He winked.

"Bakka!" Replied Naruto "I'm taking her for a meal as congratulations on her recovery!"

"Oh, well in that case, it's on the house!" Ichiraku laughed. Naruto grinned at Hinata widely and she smiled back, only blushing faintly. As they both ate their ramen, Naruto finished filling her in on the events of the day. Throughout the conversation, Hinata wanted to mention the confession, but every time she got an opportunity her heart would race and she would blush deeply. When they finished their ramen they thanked Ichiraku and left, Naruto patting his stomach contently and Hinata smiling warmly at him.

"That was really nice of Ichiraku eh Hinata?" Naruto smiled. Hinata nodded in reply.

"_Ask him now!" _ Hinata thought to herself, her heart racing as she looked at Naruto, determined to ask him about the confession.

"It's quite late, I'd better be going, father will want to see how I am" Hinata mumbled, mentally cursing at herself for chickening out at the last moment. She twiddled her fingers and blushed as she looked up at Naruto

"Thank you for the ramen Naruto"

"No problem! Hey, how about I walk you home?" Naruto offered, placing his hand on her shoulder

"T-T-That would b-be nice..." Hinata smiled, blushing furiously at Naruto's contact.

The moonlight lit the path as the two walked in silence to the Hyuuga estate. It was one of the first estates to be rebuilt, so everything was beginning to run as normal over there. The air between the two was tense, and whenever Hinata looked up at Naruto, he would blush and look away, making her frown and look back down again. When they reached to the gate to the Hyuuga estate, Naruto turned to face Hinata.

"Well... I guess this is where you get off... see you tomorrow Hinata" Naruto mumbled, unable to look her in the eyes. She felt hurt at his behaviour, as if she had done something wrong, and tears started to well up in her eyes. He started to walk away, still looking at the floor with a contemplating expression, but looked up as Hinata grabbed his arm. His eyes widened as he looked up to face her and looked into her pale, watery lavender eyes.

"H-Hinata?" Naruto managed to mutter. Tears began to slowly fall down her cheeks, but her eyes showed the same determination as when she fought Pain; it was now or never.

"When I told you I loved you... what did it mean to you?" She asked in a trembling voice. Naruto stared at her wide eyed as he replayed the moment that he had already thought of a thousand times; the confession. He didn't reply, not because he didn't want to, but because he was unable to. The moment he had imagined in his head over and over again was finally happening, and he couldn't manage to say anything. He was captivated by the tears running down her flawless, pale cheeks; the palest he had ever seen them.

He didn't know what to say, so he decided to let his actions speak for him. He slowly raised his hand to her cheek, wiping a tear away, making her eyes widen slightly, shocked at the arm contact of his hand on her cheek.

"Everything" He muttered, gazing into her pale, lavender eyes, leaning forward slowly to brush his lips against hers. Time stopped as the smooth, warm texture of her lips brushed against his. There was no sound except for the deafening beating of their hearts, and only they were present in the heat of the moment. Hinata remained wide eyed, unable to process what was happening. Her dreams had finally become reality and all of her fears dissolved at once. Naruto withdrew from the kiss, his eyes open slightly as he looked into her eyes, his breathing was heavy and laboured, as if he had just ran a marathon. Fresh tears ran down her cheeks as she stared back at him, the warmth on her lips fading quickly. Before Naruto could withdraw any further, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his, closing her eyes as she lost herself in their kiss. Naruto mentally smiled and closed his eyes as he wrapped his arms around her, pressing her body against his as he deepened their kiss. He parted his lips and licked hers with his tongue, making her part hers obediently. Her heart skipped a few beats as his tongue clashed with hers and they instinctively started wrestling, making her melt into the kiss. They never wanted the moment to end, but unfortunately they had to separate after a few minutes for air, and they both looked at each other with misty eyes, their breathing laboured and their hearts beating rapidly. They pressed their foreheads together and closed their eyes, savouring each other's embrace. Hinata pecked Naruto's lips, eager to start another making out session when Naruto opened his eyes and looked into hers.

"I love you Hinata" He whispered before pressing their lips together once more, sending the pair into solitary bliss.

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**I wanted to edit this chapter because I felt that it was waaaaay too short, plus it didn't feel 'up to scratch' in terms of my writing now. Also, I'll probably edit some of the other chapters, so keep an eye out! Reviews would be appreciated as always **


	2. Bittersweet Memories

Hey guys, just wanna say that I'll be updating this story every Monday, or maybe if there's enough demand every Monday and Thursday, drop me a comment/review/whatever and let me know Anyways, enjoy!

A chilly breeze rushed its way through Naruto's hair as he walked back from the Hyuuga estate. The full moon dimly lit up the street, so only a few of the street lamps were on. It wasn't really that late, but most shops were closing, if not already closed. Naruto buried his hands in his pockets, staring at the floor and kicking rocks as he walked back to his room. All that occupied his mind was the event that had happened only a few minutes prior, and the urge to run back to the estate to repeat the moment a million times over. He hesitated for a second, actually considering of going back, but was interrupted by hearing his name being called. He turned to see Sakura waving frantically, gesturing for him to come over. Distracting him from his thoughts, Naruto wore a huge grin, held his hands behind his head and walked towards Sakura.

"Hey Sakura!" Naruto greeted sheepishly.

"Hey Naruto, what are you doing out so late?" She asked, as she began to look at him even closer.

"And are you ok? Your face looks like it's burning up!" She pointed out, placing the back of her hand on his forehead. Naruto flinched, surprising Sakura.

"Y-yeah I'm fine!" He answered, laughing nervously. Sakura narrowed her eyes at Naruto.

"_There's something you're not telling me_..." Sakura stated, more at herself than at Naruto. After a few seconds of awkward silence, her face lit up.

"Come here for a second Naruto" She commanded, walking towards him.

"Eh?" Naruto cried, taking a step back "Why?" Sakura started to chuckle in a low tone, giving Naruto a sly look. Naruto gulped and assumed his normal stance, smiling awkwardly. Then suddenly, Sakura jumped at Naruto and grabbed him by the collar, causing Naruto to automatically protect his face with his arms. Once he noticed that she wasn't going to punch him, he slowly lowered his arms so he could see her face coming closer and closer to his. His heart started to race and blood rushed to his face.

"S-S-Sakura?" Naruto exclaimed as she got closer, but as soon as she reached his face, she looked down and sniffed his neck.

"Aha!" Sakura shouted, dropping Naruto and standing triumphantly above him.

"'Aha' What?" Naruto asked in a confused tone, rubbing his head as he got back up cautiously.

"You're blushing, acting awkward, PLUS" Sakura listed "You have Hinata's smell all over you!" Sakura laughed as all the colour left Naruto's face, and he mumbled incomprehensible gibberish. The journey on the way home consisted of Naruto attempting to describe what had happened outside of the Hyuugya estate as Sakura just nodded and smiled. After he'd finished talking, Sakura was being oddly quiet. Sensing something was wrong, Naruto decided to ask her.

"What's wrong Sakura? You're being really quiet" Naruto asked. Sakura looked up, as if just now paying attention.

"Oh nothing, I'm really happy for you Naruto, It's just..." Sakura looked away, deep in thought again, she didn't need to say it, Naruto knew what, or rather who, she was thinking about.

"You're thinking about Sasuke aren't you?" Naruto murmured, looking at the floor as if a lot of memories had started to flood his mind. At the mention of his name, Sakura started to sob, but fought back the tears and nodded in reply, the lump in her throat not letting her speak. After a few silent minutes, Naruto placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, causing Sakura to look up at him with surprise. He was wearing a small smile, with a humble expression on his face.

"I'll get him back Sakura, I promise" He assured her. Sakura smiled at his words as they comforted her, and she nodded as if to acknowledge his promise. The two hugged and said their goodbyes, and Naruto entered his apartment.

After a shower and a cup of instant ramen, Naruto laid back on his bed, staring at the ceiling. His fingers traced his lips as he replayed his first kiss over and over again in his head, a smile spreading across his face. Then he began to think about tomorrow, and hundreds of questions were raised in his mind. Would he see her? Would it be awkward when they see each other next? Will they officially become a couple? Naruto giggled slightly at the last thought, the content smile remaining on his face until he eventually fell asleep.

This chapter is actually shorter than I wanted it to be, but oh well, I like short chapters. Plus there's not much NaruHina in this chapter I know, but I wanna take this slow, this story is about NaruHina, but they're not the only people! I say I wanna take it slow, but I'm gonna get impatient at one point and throw in a lemon, because I can. (mmm, lemony goodness) :P

Please rate, review, comment, read, live, and do whatever you amazing people do. :P


	3. Confirmation

Here's the third chapter of Confessions, I really should stop writing the chapter the day it needs to be released, and I've always had a knack for doing that.

P.S, sorry for re-uploading, just corrected a mistake pointed out by one of the reviews, thanks BigBootyBaby! (I always seemed to get Yamato's and Kabuto's names mixed up for some reason, anyway, if you find any mistakes in my stories, please point them out! Much love, Azakajam!

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Naruto awoke to see a messenger bird perched on his window, staring at him with a tilted head as if to show its impatience. Naruto stared at it for a while, as if believing it wasn't there, as if he was still in a dream, until it pecked forcefully on the window, breaking Naruto out of his stupor. He sat up immediately and opened the window, allowing the bird to enter and land onto his lap. He took the message from its leg wearily; the bird didn't look pleased (as much as a bird couldn't), it must've been trying to wake him up for a while. As he gently detached the message from the bird's leg, it flapped furiously, startling Naruto, and flew off. He cursed a little under his breath and returned to the message. It was a message from Kakashi, telling him to meet him as soon as possible. Due to Tsunade being in a coma from her fight with Pain, Kakashi was selected as a temporary Hokage, until Tsunade either woke up or until she showed no more signs of improvement. Apparently, there was a lot of commotion about Kakashi being made temporary Hokage due to his young age, but most of the commotion was made by a man called Danzo, who Naruto knew little about. He fled the village after the decision was made, but Naruto couldn't care less.

After getting showered, getting dressed and having breakfast, he set off. As Naruto walked through the streets, he couldn't help but smile. People's spirits had started to lift since Pain's attack, and the reconstruction of Konoha created a sense of unity among the villagers. The atmosphere was friendlier than it was back before the attack, mostly because since Naruto had defeated Pain, he was considered a hero amongst the people. People still came up to him, thanking him for saving the town, but Naruto would just get embarrassed and tell them that it was his duty as a ninja, giving them his trademark grin and thumbs up. He'd even been asked to sign a few autographs by some of the younger children, so Naruto had gotten used to being stopped in the street. After trying to shoo away some gennin asking him to teach them, he heard some loud shouting and looked up in the direction it was coming from. Gai and Lee were challenging each other again, this time seeing who could repair their roof the quickest. The reconstruction seemed more like a test to them, as if it would prove who the better of the two was. Naruto laughed at the sight, holding his hands behind his head, until a familiar, quiet voice greeted him.

"U-Umm... Hello Naruto" Naruto turned to face a fidgeting Hinata, looking at his feet as if to avoid eye contact, her face red. He instantly blushed as the sight of Hinata caused him to remember their kiss outside the Hyuuga estate.

"H-Hey Hinata" Naruto chuckled nervously "How've you been?" He lowered his arms to his sides as he watched Hinata fidget more, as if trying hard to think of a reply to his simple question. He watched her as she rubbed her fingers into the opposite hand, and then slowly looked up towards her face. He couldn't help but notice her deep red cheeks contrasted again her pale, violet eyes. They relaxed him, soothed him.

"I-I uh..." Hinata stuttered "I'm sorry Naruto, but I...I have to go... meet Kakashi..." Her face expressed her regret of having to leave him, but Naruto didn't say a word. As she turned, he grabbed her hand. She turned in surprise to see Naruto's warm, loving smile.

"Then let's go together" Naruto offered "Kakashi needs to see me too. Hinata started to stutter, first at his offer and then as she noticed he was holding her hand. But, before she could say anything, he laced his fingers with hers and marched onward, dragging Hinata along before she got accustomed to the situation, tightened her grip on his slightly and walked closer to him. She couldn't help but smile to herself, her hopes had finally come true. Here she was, walking through town, holding hands with Naruto, looking like a real couple. Whether or not they were an official couple hadn't been discussed yet, but the fact that they were holding hands seemed like a silent agreement to her. Despite her happiness, it didn't show through her nervousness and slight embarrassment, the dark blush seeming like a permanent feature on her face now. She looked up at Naruto, catching him gazing at her. When their eyes meant, he blushed furiously and looked forward. Hinata giggled slightly and rubbed his hand with her thumb, causing him to smile warmly. She thought about starting a conversation, but she knew she'd just stutter and embarrass herself, so she kept quiet and just enjoyed the moment. She swore she could hear people whispering about them, causing heads to turn, but she tried not to notice and tightened her grip on Naruto's hand.

When they reached the door to Kakashi's office, the tension between the two started to build. The pair looked at each other, trying to string a sentence together, but they just stuttered, noticed each other's nervousness and laughed nervously. They both withdrew their hands that felt empty, as if they weren't used to not holding each other's hands. Naruto faced Hinata, looking directly into her eyes. She instinctively looked down and blushed even more (if that was even possible), but looked up again to see Naruto's face inches from hers. Hinata gulped nervously, not breaking the eye contact they were sharing. Naruto placed his hand on her cheek gently, and slowly started to close the distance between them, closing his eyes more the closer they got. Hinata also started to close the distance between them, closing her eyes when she could feel Naruto's hot breath brush against her lips. As their lips touched, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and he hugged her closely. The two lost themselves in their deep, passionate kiss, concentrating on each other's tongues, savouring each other's tastes. As they both withdrew to catch their breath, Naruto placed a quick, small kiss on her lips, placing his forehead against hers. They both smiled contently and kept their eyes closed, savouring the moment, keeping each other close, sharing their warmth.

"Naruto! Hinata! You can come in whenever you're ready!" Kakashi shouted sarcastically from his office. The couple practically jumped out of their skins after being woken up so crudely from their moment of tranquillity. They were frozen in place, as if their stillness would render them invisible, and make it seem like the last two seconds never happened. They were surprised further by the door swinging open, Sai on the opposite side with his usual smile.

"We've been waiting for you" Sai stated, putting away his smile and observing Naruto, then Hinata. He looked as though he was thinking of something to say, but instead turned and walked into the office. The two soon followed, Hinata closing the door behind her, then rushing to stand by Naruto's side. Kakashi was sat at the desk, arms folded, staring at the desk, and then looking up to face Naruto and Hinata.

"Glad you could make it; I thought you weren't going to turn up with the amount of time it took you to get here" Kakashi admitted. The two blushed and tried to come up with an excuse, but Kakashi carried on.

"Anyway, I called you here to tell you that you won't be helping with the construction anymore. It's almost finished, so now we can start to send ninja's on missions again" Kakashi explained. Naruto grinned at this, he had gotten bored with reconstruction and missed going on missions.

"So why did you want to see me and Naruto?" Hinata asked. She was surprisingly confident in her speaking, not mumbling once. It seemed odd to Naruto, as all she did was stutter and mumble when she tried to talk to him, but at the same time, it was refreshing. However, as soon as she finished talking, she looked at Naruto and blushed again, looking toward the floor.

"I'm glad you asked that Hinata" Kakashi smiled, trying to relax her by being friendly "I did want to send team seven on missions, but since Sakura is busy in the hospital and I'm temporary Hokage, we can't come. However..." He looked behind the three, and they turned around to see Yamato stood behind them.

"I've managed to find replacements" Kakashi finished "Hinata, you will be filling in for Sakura, and Yamato will be filling in for me"

"Wait, what about Kiba and Shino?" Naruto asked.

"They're helping reconstruct the town, and I've already sent team 10 out on missions, so Ino couldn't fill in for Sakura's medic role. It didn't seem right for you to have an all male team, so I placed Hinata in your team" Kakashi answered playfully. After a few moments silence and no objections, Kakashi figured it was safe to continue.

"So, since this will be your first mission in a while, I'll give you a C rank mission" Kakashi revealed. Before Naruto could argue, he handed them an envelope containing information about the mission, and dismissed them. It was a simple escort mission, requiring them to protect some of the constructors on their way home. It was an uneventful and long winded mission that took the rest of the day which frustrated Naruto, but Hinata would hold his hand and smile to calm him down. They got back from their mission at late evening, so Yamato left to report to Kakashi and Sai went home.

"Soo..." Naruto stretched, grinning at Hinata "Wanna get something to eat?" She nodded and the two started toward Ichiraku's. A second helping of Ramen later, Naruto let out a content sigh and patted his stomach as Hinata just finished her pork miso. They stood, paid for their food and left holding hands, warm smiles on their faces. Naruto walked her home once again since it was quite late, plus he wasn't quite ready to leave her yet. The walk was relaxing and soothing, the two now used to walking and holding hands, not blushing anymore when they caught the other looking at them, instead returning the look and smiling. When they reached the entrance to the Hyuuga estate, Hinata stopped, withdrew her hand and turned to look at Naruto, blushing for the first time in hours.

"D-Do you mind if I ask you something Naruto?" She mumbled, fiddling with her hands. Naruto smiled and held her hand, nodding for her to continue.

"Are we an official couple now?" Hinata blurted, not stuttering once, as if she had been rehearsing the line in her head a thousand times. Naruto blinked and looked at her, surprised.

"Well I thought that the answer to that would be pretty obvious, even to me" He laughed, rubbing the back of his head, but he could see the seriousness on her face. He sighed, pulled her in by her hand and kissed her. He withdrew and smiled at her.

"Of course we are" He answered "I love you Hinata" and pulled her into another kiss. However, the kiss was cut short by the gate swinging open, Hinata gasping at the figure that walked through.

"Father!" she gasped looking at him, then Naruto. Naruto stood, confused at what was going on, but then returned his concentration to listen to Hiashi.

"You think I wouldn't find out Hinata?" He asked rhetorically, causing her to look down in shame "Rumours have been spreading like wildfire, but I didn't expect them to be true" He looked at Naruto, causing him to freeze up. He looked at Hinata, but she was still looking at the floor, silent. The atmosphere was awkward; the tension could be cut with a knife. Hiashi started to walk toward Hinata, and she started to tremble. Naruto instinctively felt the need to protect her, so he raced to her side, holding her hand and looking at Hiashi resolutely. Hiashi looked surprisingly at Naruto, as if confused by his reaction. Nevertheless, he continued toward Hinata, until he placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up at him. He was smiling down at her, a look of pride that she had never seen before.

"I'm glad you chose the hero of Konoha to date Hinata, I hope you have a prosperous future together" Hinata froze at his words, tears welling up in her eyes. But joy turned to panic when his eyes slowly started to close, his grip on her shoulder loosened and he collapsed past her.

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Wow that was a long chapter if I do say so myself! I've read a lot of NaruHina Fanfics where Hiashi was against their love and was a total dick until he changed his opinion on his death bed. I didn't wanna go down that road, thinking it would be too clique, also, in my opinion Hiashi would support them, especially since Naruto is the hero of Konoha! :P


	4. Loss

Hey guys, sorry for the extremely late update, but FF is having a problem with some glitch or something. If you can't update your story, then I'll post a paragraph at the end of the fanfic that'll tell you how to; I found it in a forum somewhere. Anyway, enjoy!

As her father fell, the world around her vanished, only her and Naruto present. She stared at her father on the floor wide-eyed, her lips trembling. She was about to shout out to her father, but Naruto rushed at her and gripped her by the throat.

"What did you do Hinata?" He screamed "Why did you kill your own father?" Hinata instinctively grabbed his hands that were wrapped around her throat and tried to scream, a thousand thoughts rushing through her head. Just as her face was beginning to run out of breath, Naruto released her from his grip and backed away slowly. She slumped to her knees, trying to catch her breath, unable to comprehend the situation, and she looked up at Naruto. His expression was hateful, his read eyes scaring her.

"I don't love you." Naruto stated, making Hinata freeze. "You're weak. Pathetic. I love strong women, women who can look after themselves. Like Sakura" The moment he mentioned her name, Sakura appeared beside him, holding his hand. Hinata grabbed her chest; it felt as if someone stabbed her with a knife.

"W-Why Naruto?" She asked tearfully "You said you loved me!" Naruto just grunted and turned to face Sakura, who faced him in return. They smiled lovingly, closed the distance between them and kissed. Hinata stared open mouthed at the couple, crying openly. The two began to get more passionate in their kissing, hands exploring each other's bodies, lust in their movements. Hinata shouted at them to stop until her voice went hoarse, covering her ears and closing her eyes, but she could still hear them.

"I love you Sakura", "I love you Naruto" repeated over and over until Hinata reached her limit, grabbing a kunai and wielding it to her throat.

"I can't live without you Naruto! Without you my life has no purpose!" Hinata exclaimed, and begun to close the distance between her throat and the kunai. Just before the kunai touched her throat, a hand grabbed hers and she could feel chakra flowing into her. She looked up to see Naruto and Sakura, laughing as they faded away into the darkness, which then turned into light, which then turned into Naruto. He was gasping heavily, sweat running down his face, looking into her eyes, mouth moving, but the sound distorted. Tears ran down her face, and she fell into darkness once more.

Hinata opened her eyes slowly, the light stinging her eyes. When she finally opened them fully, she was facing a plain and monotonous ceiling. She looked down and observed the room, noticing she was in a hospital room. She looked to her left to see Naruto, asleep in a chair next to his bed. He looked stressed and tired, dark bags under his eyes, his face paler than usual. Hinata sat up quickly, her mind racing back to the incident before she lost consciousness. Her sudden movement jolted Naruto awake, and his expression turned ecstatic, and he leaped at Hinata giving her a hug.

"Hinata, you're awake! I'm so-"Naruto was interrupted as she pushed him away from her, tears welling up in her eyes. Naruto landed on his back, and he sat up to look at Hinata with a confused expression.

"What the hell Hinata?" He complained "It's me, Naruto!" But his words changed nothing. She remained in her bed, looking at him tearfully, hurt and confused.

"Hinata..." He murmured, standing back up. Before he could talk further, the door opened and Sakura rushed in.

"What happened?" She shouted "I heard a loud noise from downstairs so I-"She stopped when she looked at Hinata, who had curled up and was crying in her knees. She instantly looked at Naruto with an angry expression.

"What the hell did you do Naruto?" She roared, walking over to him whilst cracking her knuckles in her hands. Naruto instinctively backed away, holding his hands out in front of him.

"N-Nothing!" He sputtered "She finally woke up, I went to give her a hug and she pushed me away!" Not believing a word he said, Sakura continued towards him, the intent of hurting Naruto clear in her eyes. As she began to raise her fist, a hand grabbed her arm and stopped her. She looked behind her to see Kakashi shaking his head.

"You really do have Tsunade's temper" he mumbled to himself, and he looked at her with his eye. "He's telling the truth Sakura" Blushing, she unclenched her fist and Kakashi let go of her arm. Naruto sighed a big sigh of relief and returned to his normal stance, then looked at Hinata with a concerned look, who had calmed down a bit, but was still looking at Naruto warily, and the odd glare at Sakura. Once everyone was calmed down, Kakashi signalled for everyone to sit next to the bed, smiling at Hinata.

"It's good to see that you've woken up Hinata" Kakashi said warmly, causing her to relax a little more. "I-"

"What happened to me?" Hinata interrupted, looking into her lap. Kakashi stopped smiling and changed his expression to a more concerned, yet serious expression.

"You were trapped in a powerful genjutsu, known as tsukuyomi." Kakashi stated. Hinata's brow furrowed, confusion set in her expression.

"But I thought that the tsukuyomi was a sharingan technique?" She puzzled "And there was no one present with the sharingan at the time" Kakashi nodded and looked at the concerned Naruto, who continued the explanation.

"Well, we were outside your estate when your father, Hiashi, came out" Naruto explained "However, when he got to you and touched your shoulder, his eyes flashed red and then you went silent" Naruto looked away, as if contemplating the moment. "It turned out it was Madara using a transformation technique" Naruto grunted at the last sentence, as if blaming himself for not seeing through Madara's genjutsu. Hinata went wide eyed, but Naruto continued.

"Once I realised he had but you under a genjutsu, I tried to rush to your side, but Sasuke came out of nowhere and stopped me." Hinata was surprised at the mention of his name.

"S-Sasuke?" she mumbled, furrowing her brow. Naruto nodded and continued.

"They didn't want to fight." He stated "They just wanted to talk. They told me that Sasuke had killed Danzo, finally claiming revenge for his clan." Sakura looked down at her lap. She looked happy but sad at the same time. Hinata wanted to ask her what was wrong, but Naruto continued.

"Madara said that he had come for the Kyuubi, and started walking towards me. I tried throwing kunai at him, but Sasuke deflected them. But then, the moment that Madara passed Sasuke, he swung at Madara with his sword" He took a deep sigh and continued.

"But Madara's jutsu is incredible; the sword went right through him, as if he wasn't even there! As soon as Sasuke's blade went through him, Madara cut him down" He winced at the last sentence.

"Madara escaped and Sasuke is now in hospital" Sakura finished "After Madara cut attacked Sasuke, Kakashi and I arrived. He must've decided that the odds were against him so he fled. Then I attended to Sasuke's wound and Naruto and Kakashi broke you out of the genjutsu." Hinata sighed inwardly, but then grimaced as she remembered something that Naruto said to her in the genjutsu.

"_You're weak. Pathetic."_ she couldn't help but repeat it in her head. Her eyes started to well up, but then she calmed down when something warm touched her hand. She looked to see Naruto's hand on hers, then saw the concerned expression on his face.

"Hinata." He said reassuringly. She looked into his eyes, but instantly looked down again, unable to face him. Kakashi nodded at Sakura and the two got up, knowing that they should give the couple some alone time.

"As soon as you're feeling fine you can leave, but I recommend that you take it easy for the next couple of days" Sakura suggested, following Kakashi out of the room. A moment of awkward silence followed after they left, and the tension started to rise.

"Hinata I-"

"I'm tired Naruto, I think I'll get some rest" Hinata interrupted, laying back down and facing away from Naruto. Confused and shocked, he couldn't understand why Hinata was being so cold towards him.

"What did I do Hinata?" Naruto asked, placing his hand on her shoulder. After a moment of silence, he decided that she had probably fallen asleep and sighed audibly. He got up, leant over and kissed her on the cheek.

"Get well soon, I love you Hinata" he whispered in her ear and left quietly. As soon as he left the room she burst into tears. She didn't understand why she was feeling the way she did. She knew that it was a genjutsu, but she couldn't help but remember how real it felt. She tried to stop thinking about the genjutsu and turned on her other side to see a vase of seven flowers. She sobbed into her pillow and fell asleep.

Naruto walked down the hallway and pressed the 'up' button on the hospital elevator. For the whole week that they had been hospitalised, Naruto visited Sasuke and Hinata daily. Sasuke still hadn't woken up, but he had been showing signs of improvement. Once he reached the eighth floor, he entered Sasuke's room opposite the elevator and sat on the chair next to his bed. Two anbu members were always in the room in case Sasuke tried to escape, so they never had complete privacy. A doctor was overlooking Sasuke's charts, and when he noticed that Naruto was looking at him with a concerned expression, he smiled reassuringly, relaxing Naruto.

"He should be awake in the next 24 hours" the doctor reassured "He's a fast healer" Naruto smiled and nodded his thanks as the doctor placed the chart back down and left. He looked at Sasuke's stoic expression. Happiness always welled up in Naruto when he saw Sasuke, glad that his friend was back in Konoha, glad that he had fulfilled his promise to Sakura. However, Sakura hadn't seen him since she attended to him when Madara attacked him. Whenever he brought up the both of them visiting Sasuke, she'd always change the subject or say that she was busy.

_I really do not get women_ Naruto thought sarcastically and sighed. He spent the next hour talking to, or rather, at Sasuke about old memories, missions and the future until a nurse told him that visiting times were over and he would have to leave. Before he left the hospital, he decided to visit Tsunade in her private room. He sat on the chair next to her bed and observed her. She was pale, and her face had lost its youth, showing her true age. The doctors said that this was a sign that her Chakra reserves were running low. Naruto knew that this meant she was dying; she'd rather die than look her age. There were loads of tubes in her body, as if they were the only thing keeping her alive. He held his necklace that was a gift from Tsunade, and updated her of the latest news as he regularly did. He looked at her face, noticing how peaceful her expression was. It was as if Naruto's presence soothed her, that she knew he was there talking to her. Her breathing had become more laboured than usual; Naruto knew that she didn't have much time left.

"Don't worry granny, I'm here" he whispered reassuringly, stroking her hair from her wrinkly forehead. "I want to thank you for being there for me, for helping me through the pervy sage's death. You're like a mother to me" he added, the lump in his throat making it harder for him to talk. He looked at her monitor and noticed that the beeping had steadily started to get slower. He continued to stroke her hair, tears now slowly running down his cheek.

"Its okay" he whimpered "You can go now. I'll be okay" The beeping of the monitor became more spacious, and her breathing became slower and calmer. A single tear ran down her cheek, rolling down onto Naruto's hand. He swallowed the lump in his throat and started to cry freely as she let out a long, last breath, the monitor filling the silence with a constant whine. Naruto leaned his head on her, crying into the sheet. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Kakashi looking back at him solemnly. Naruto stood and Kakashi moved him out of the room so that the doctors could check to see if there was a chance to revive her. They stood by the entrance for five minutes that felt like an hour, when a doctor came out shook his head as he looked at Naruto and Kakashi. Sakura came running up the hall, but stopped short as she saw Naruto crying outside of Tsunade's room. She looked at the doctor who shook his head slowly at her and went back into the room. She walked up to Naruto, placing her hand on his shoulder. He looked at her to see that she was crying too, and the two embraced, comforting each other. Kakashi left quietly and left the two alone. As they comforted each other, they were being watched from the end of the hall by another girl who wept, thinking that her biggest fears had just been confirmed.

Well that was a depressing chapter, fun to write the genjutsu part though. R&R, or just enjoy the chapter, I don't mind

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**Important message to anyone have trouble updating stories**: As some people reading this may have noticed, it has been impossible to update stories in some fandoms. Someone on Yahoo!Answers has figured out a way to still add new chapters, before this issue is fixed. If you get a type 2 error after clicking on the edit story button, then what you can do is go to the address bar (the place where you type in the address of a website you want to go to), and where it says _properties_, replace that with_ content_. That will allow you to still be able to post new chapters. Unfortunately, no one has found a way around to problem to allow posting new stories in these fandoms as far as I know. Also, I would like to request that anyone who reads this message do what they can to share it.


	5. Search

**Sorry for the late update guys, I've been too busy winning lately :/ (Charlie Sheen Joke) Sorry for the re-upload too, I forgot to put this apology bit in, I suck. Anyway, Enjoy Chapter 5 of Confessions! :)**

Tears streamed down her face when she saw the two embrace. Her biggest fears had been confirmed. It was as if she was trapped in the genjutsu all over again. She remembered the passion, the lust that the two displayed, and the way they explored each other's bodies. She winced at the memory, turned and ran. She didn't know where she was going, but she didn't care. She just wanted to run away from the pain, leave everything behind. She ran out of the hospital, through town and into one of the nearby forests. Her vision was blurred due to her tears, so she kept bumping into trees and eventually tripped over a root, landing face first into some grass. She tried to get up, but it was as if her body was drained of all strength, so she turned onto her back and cried as she stared at the night sky.

"_How could Naruto do this to me?"_ She thought _"He told me he loved me!"_ She thought about their first kiss outside of her estate, then of the one outside the Hokage's room. But then her thoughts drifted to the genjutsu, of Naruto and Sakura kissing passionately. She forced herself to move at the thought; to get up and keep running, but as soon as she got up, she collapsed again and passed out.

Naruto searched the city frantically, crying out Hinata's name. He was woken up that morning by Sakura knocking heavily on his door. She told Naruto that Hinata had left the hospital without discharging herself, and that no one had seen her since they talked to her about the incident. He immediately got dressed and went out searching for her. All of the other chuunins had started to search for her too, even the Hyuuga family despatched a few ninjas to aid the search. Naruto couldn't help but think about how cold Hinata was acting towards him yesterday.

"_Could it have been something in that genjutsu?"_ Naruto thought, clenching his fists. _"Damn Madara! I've got to find Hinata and talk to her!"_ Morning eventually turned to evening, and there was still no sign of Hinata. All of the chuunins reported few sightings, consisting mainly of witnesses claiming to see a raven haired girl running through the town, but not knowing where to. When they all met up to share any new information, Neiji started acting hostile toward Naruto, blaming him for Hinata's sudden disappearance, but after convincing him that he had done nothing wrong, the jounin left, trying to calm himself down. Naruto didn't think that he cared about her so much, but they were related after all, and Naruto never knew a bond between family. The group disbanded and decided to continue the search tomorrow, but Naruto wasn't about to give up. As he walked through town, trying to gather more information on Hinata, his stomach growled painfully. Not having eaten all day, he decided to go to Ichiraku's to get some ramen and then continue his search. As he ordered his ramen, he overheard the two men next to him talking.

"Tell me about it! Just yesterday I saw a girl running toward the forest crying her eyes out! Kids these days and their hormones!" the older man laughed, eating his ramen. Naruto jumped up off his seat and grabbed the old man's shoulders.

"Did the girl have dark blue hair?" he questioned the old stuttering man, who was surprised at Naruto's sudden actions.

"Y-Yes!" He answered, partly with fear, mostly with surprise.

"What direction?" Naruto questioned, a desperate tone in his voice.

"W-West!" the old man replied, and sighed with relief as Naruto let go of him and ran west.

"Your ramen Naru-"Ichiraku called, but stopped when he noticed that Naruto had disappeared. He wore a puzzled look and turned to the men to question them, but stopped as he saw the old man's pale face as if he was about to have a heart attack.

"Are you ok?" Ichiraku questioned concernedly as the old man looked back at him.

"Kids these days!" He shouted, making his friend laugh and Ichiraku puzzled.

Naruto ran west as fast as he could, rushing past people and jumping over obstacles, and eventually making it to the entrance of the forest. He stopped and looked back, wondering if he should tell the others about his new information, but he decided against it and ran on ahead. He ran through the forest, calling Hinata's name as he frantically searched for her. Realising that it would take forever on his own, he created several shadow clones and commanded them to look for Hinata. After twenty minutes of frantic searching, a shadow clone released itself, informing Naruto of where Hinata was. He ran for the destination immediately, and when he reached her she was on the floor, unconscious. His shadow clones caught up to him, and after a nod they turned into white puffs of smoke. He sat her up against him, holding her close, crying softly. She slowly started to wake up and looked up at Naruto.

"Hinata!" he cried, relieved "What were you thinking? Everyone's worried about you! We've been searching for-"She pushed him away, interrupting him and stood up. He looked up at her, confused when he saw her, tears running down her face.

"How could you Naruto?" she shouted "How could you cheat on me with Sakura?" Naruto's brow furrowed as his confusion increased ten-fold.

"What are you on about?" He asked "I'd never cheat on you!"

"Don't lie!" she retaliated "I saw you hugging in the hospital!"

"What?" Naruto paused, thinking back to the Hokage's death in the hospital. He looked down, trying to hold back tears "That's because-"

"Don't make excuses" Hinata interrupted "If you don't love me just say" She fell to her knees at the last sentence, holding herself and crying. Her words stung Naruto; he was even somehow offended by her words. He walked over to Hinata and kneeled so that he was eye level with her. He looked into her eyes and wore the most sincere expression he could.

"I love you more than anything Hinata" he told her, trying to fight back a lump in his throat "Trust me, I would never cheat on you with Sakura, I love you and only you."

"What's making you jump to conclusions so suddenly? You're hurting me Hinata" he confessed as he wrapped his arms around her, holding her head to his chest. She listened to his fast heart beat, feeling that he was telling the truth. She hugged him back in response and cried into his chest.

"It was the genjutsu!" she cried "You and Sakura were kissing and-"Naruto lifted up her chin with his hand so he could look into her eyes. Without saying anything, he kissed her softly on the lips. Hinata wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him closer to her, taking their kiss deeper. Whilst they kissed, she felt a swirl of emotions radiate from Naruto. She felt relief, happiness, but also a hidden feeling of despair. When she pulled back, she looked into his eyes, and she noticed the dullness of someone who had suffered great loss that she had seen many times before. Before she could ask him what was wrong, it all clicked.

"_They were hugging outside of the Hokage's hospital room!" _She thought _"They must have been comforting each other, which means that-"_

"The Hokage died" Naruto stated, breaking into tears, dragging her out of her trail of thought. She looked up to see a despair in Naruto's eyes that she hadn't seen since he was considered an outcast. She wiped the tears from his cheeks, gave him a gentle kiss and the two embraced, weeping into each other's shoulders.

After a while, they decided that they needed to get back to the village, so the two walked slowly through the forest on the way back to Konoha, holding hands and contemplating in the silence of the forest. Naruto's stomach soon the silence; it growled angrily at its emptiness. Naruto blushed in embarrassment, but laughed when Hinata's started to grumble in reply. The pair laughed and decided that the first thing they needed to do when they got back was to get food.

After they had both quickly cleared their plates, Hinata placed her hand on Naruto's. He interlaced their fingers, smiling at her warmly.

"Come on" Naruto said "Let's go let everyone know you're back" Hinata nodded and the pair left for the Hokage's room. When they got there, the door was open, the sound of a debate coming from the office.

"Please Kakashi! You must become the next Hokage!" A woman pleaded

"But I'm not cut out for the job, nor do I want to become Hokage." Kakashi argued "Anyway, I know someone who would be more than happy to become Hokage" Naruto knocked on the door lightly, and an old man, an old woman and Kakashi turned to look at him.

"Ah! Speak of the devil!" Kakashi called, waving Naruto in.

"I just came to tell you that I found Hinata" Naruto stated nervously, he felt like the two old people were important, which made him feel a bit on edge. Hinata held his hand firmly to relax him.

"Ah I see" Kakashi smiled "Then you must report to your father Hinata, he's been worried about you" Hinata nodded in response, kissed Naruto on the cheek and left. Naruto smiled contently to himself and Kakashi chuckled, making him blush.

"This is the person I recommend for the next Hokage" Kakashi stated in a serious tone, pointing toward Naruto. Naruto almost jumped out of his skin at the statement.

"What?" Naruto cried, taking a step back "Me? Hokage?" Kakashi nodded in response.

"Well" Said the old man "He is the 'Hero of Konoha', liked by all, but officially he is still just a gennin."

"Rank isn't that important" The old woman argued "He's a student of one of the legendary Sannin AND the son of the fourth Hokage!"

"He's also an incredibly powerful ninja, one that surpasses even me" Kakashi finished. The three nodded as Naruto flailed, unable to believe what was going on.

"B-But..." Naruto stuttered

"So it's decided then" The old man approved "Uzumaki Naruto is to be made the sixth Hokage!" Naruto's jaw dropped in disbelief. Kakashi smiled, giving him a thumbs up, and the old pair just nodded.

"It will be announced after Tsunade's funeral tomorrow" The old woman finished. At that, the old couple stood, nodded in farewell to Naruto and Kakashi and left. Naruto eventually regained his composure and looked at the floor.

"_Tsunade's funeral is tomorrow..." _He thought to himself, holding his necklace. Kakashi placed a hand on his shoulder, smiling proudly at him.

"Your dream has finally come true Naruto; you're going to become Hokage!"

I know this chapter is a bit short, but ah well, deal with it :D :P

P.S. The fact that Fanfiction still hasn't fixed the bug yet is annoying me, but don't worry, the updates will keep coming! :)


	6. Betrayal

***Lemon Warning* - Look away kids!**

**Anyway, thought I'd release a chapter early, I had a sudden wave of inspiration and I had to share it! Also, the edit has been fixed! yaaaaay! *party* xD Please read the bottom bit before posting any flames! **

"**Why would I post a flame?" I see you're thinking, well read on and you'll find out why, but just remember, I love you all, please don't hate me **** xD**

**Anyway, here's chapter 6 of Confessions, enjoy!**

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Naruto trudged through the dimly lit streets, hands in his pockets and facing down at the ground. It was quite late, since Naruto had to talk to Kakashi about the whole Hokage situation. It was supposed to be the greatest news of his life, all that he had worked for had finally come to fruition, but he couldn't be any more sad. The death of the previous Hokage weighed heavily on him, the old woman was like the mother he never had. The shops and houses of the streets that Naruto walked through all had a lit lantern outside of them to show their respects for the fallen Hokage. When he finally arrived at his apartment, he took out his keys to open the door to his apartment, but stopped when he saw that his door was already open. Breaking out of his sad state, he instantly became alert, slowly opening the door to his dark apartment and reaching into his back pouch for a kunai. As he grabbed a kunai, he hit the door open and flicked the light switch next to the door. Kunai held in front of him as he took a defensive stance, he scanned his apartment, looking for any intruders, but stopped as he saw the person who was waiting in his apartment. Sakura was sitting in the fetal position in the corner of the room, and instantly looked up to see who had bust the door open.

"Sakura-"Naruto started, but was interrupted by Sakura running and embracing him, crying into his shoulder. Naruto instantly hugged her back, stoking her hair to soothe her for a few minutes before attempting to speak to her.

"What's wrong?" He asked, prying her from his shoulder to look into her eyes, but she looked at the floor, avoiding his gaze as she tried to calm down. Without waiting for an answer, he placed Sakura down on his bed and sat next to her, allowing her to lean on his shoulder. They stayed like that until she completely calmed down and sat up, rubbing her cheeks. Naruto looked at her patiently, trying to hold back from asking her more questions, allowing her to speak in her own time. Soon enough, the pink haired girl began to speak.

"She was like a mother to me Naruto, I'm really going to miss her" She blurted out, trying not to start crying again. Naruto closed his eyes, trying to hold back his own tears.

"She was the closest thing I've ever had to a mother, and Jiraiya was the closest thing I've ever had to a father" Naruto croaked, only letting a single tear run down his cheek "I'm going to make them proud Sakura, you try too, I know they'd only lecture me for moping about" Naruto smiled sadly at Sakura, who stared back at him in admiration. She knew that he was right, that she would have to carry on Tsunade's legacy by becoming the greatest medic ninja she could be. She smiled at Naruto's comforting words and looked into his eyes, moving closer to him. When he noticed Sakura had started getting closer to him whilst looking at him with an expression he didn't recognise, he instantly felt awkward. Time had suddenly become slow as a million thoughts rushed through his head.

"_I'm glad I could cheer her up, at least she's smiling now... Wait, is she getting closer?... Why is she looking at me like that? My stomach feels funny, maybe-_" As he closed his eyes, wondering if the funny feeling was from an undercooked ramen and then getting lost in a trail of thought, he felt something warm press against his lips. He nostalgic feeling made him forget where he was, mistaking the feeling on his lips for a sly kiss from Hinata. He mentally grinned, kissing back and brushing her lips with his tongue. Her tongue met his and they danced slowly and passionately. Naruto's brow furrowed when he couldn't recognise the unfamiliar taste and opened his eyes, wondering if it really was Hinata. As soon as he caught a glimpse of the pink hair, his eyes snapped open in realisation, his brain suddenly catching up to speed on where he was and who it was he was really kissing. He withdrew from the kiss, earning a confused expression from her as she looked at Naruto's shocked one. He jumped up, mumbling to himself, his face white.

"Naruto..." Sakura whimpered, standing up so she could face him. She tried to walk closer to him, but he stopped her by holding her shoulders and looked down. Sakura was about to speak, but Naruto interrupted her.

"You know I'm with Hinata, and you do something like that" He stated in a serious tone. Sakura winced, unable to answer him. Not hearing a reply, Naruto's head shot up, tears streaming down his face, expression full of hurt.

"I liked you- no- loved you for god knows how many years, and when I'm finally happy and in a relationship, you-"

"I love you Naruto" Sakura interrupted, tears streaming down her face, catching Naruto off guard. He looked at her wide eyed; only just able to ask "What about Sasuke?" when she shoved his arms off her shoulders and hugged him.

"What about him? I loved him and he never ever loved me back! You were the one that was always by my side, proving unwavering loyalty by always promising to bring him back! Well he's back Naruto, I've only seen him once, and do you know what he said to me?" Naruto shook his head slowly; he didn't even know that Sakura saw Sasuke.

"Nothing Naruto, he said nothing. He just looked at me with cold eyes and looked away, as if I was nothing to him! It was after that that I knew who I really belonged with, it was you Naruto! I get jealous whenever I hear of you and Hinata being together, I was even slightly grateful that Hinata ran away because I knew that she wouldn't be between us anymore. You may say that you love Hinata Naruto, but you can't deny that you still love me" Naruto clenched his fists, anger growing in him at Sakura's confession, until he eventually snapped.

"Of course I still love you!" He snapped, surprising Sakura "But I love Hinata too, and she loves me back! Years of chasing you got me nowhere; it actually made me a little empty inside, knowing that all the things I did for you were unappreciated, whilst at the same time you loved _him_ more than me. But when I'm with Hinata... I don't have that emptiness, I feel complete, knowing that she returns my love, that I'm her world. She died for me Hinata, trying to protect me from Pain, and where were you? Watching on the sidelines! You say that you love me, but they're just empty words-"Naruto was interrupted from his rant by Sakura embracing him. Naruto stood still, tears running down his face as Sakura hugged him, weeping into his chest. Hundreds of thoughts ran through his mind, he wasn't even sure what to do. He wished that he could just skip tonight and these events, they were too stressful to handle right now. As much as he wanted to push Sakura away and tell her to get out of his apartment, he couldn't. Part of him just wanted to hug her back, kiss her more, and hold her. The harsh truth of Sakura's words rang through his mind.

"_You may say that you love Hinata Naruto, but you can't deny that you still love me_"

Sakura looked up at Naruto's contemplating face, then at his lips. She kissed his lips, but then pulled back when she noticed that Naruto wasn't kissing back, looking at her with a painful expression. She looked away, saddened by his expression, and when she was about to walk away, Naruto grabbed her hand and pulled her back, kissing her. She kissed back, the salty taste of both their tears mixing in with their kiss. He pulled her closer as their tongues met, hugging her as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

As they cuddled up on his bed, Naruto couldn't stop thinking about Hinata. He kept wishing that the girl who was asleep on his chest was Hinata, that the girl he had been making out with and cuddling for hours was Hinata. He just wanted Hinata right now. He slowly and carefully pried Sakura from him, making her stir but successfully not waking her up. He tiptoed across his apartment, opened the door slowly and closed it carefully. As Naruto walked through the dark and empty streets, his thoughts were plagued with guilt of the betrayal. He totally blamed himself for what had happened; constantly thinking that he wasn't good enough for Hinata, that he didn't deserve her. A few times on his walk, he had got so angry at himself that he punched the floor, burying his fist into the concrete creating a hole, nearly breaking his knuckle in the process. His grief stricken walk had finally ended up on top of the Hokage Mountain. He stood on the edge of the fourth Hokage's head, looking down at Konoha. He scanned the dark village, dotted with ret lanterns that gave it a beautiful and mysterious quality. When looked toward the Hyuuga compound, he felt a stabbing pain in his heart and clenched it.

"Hinata..." He whispered into the wind that blew his hair out of his face.

"Yes?" Came a reply from behind him, making him jump and nearly fall off of the edge, but a hand grabbed his shirt, pulling him back up. He spun around to see Hinata giggling to herself, smiling toward Naruto.

"Hinata!" he beamed, embracing his girlfriend, making her blush before she returned the hug.

"Yes Naruto?" She replied happily, smiling warmly toward him. Before he could speak, Hinata interrupted him.

"I have some good news Naruto; my father approves of us dating, but he would like to meet you"

"... Just to talk!" She added, waving her arms as Naruto went white, looking as though he had just been told that he had a few days left to live. Hinata went to embrace him again, but paused as Naruto took a step back.

"N-Naruto?" She asked, furrowing her brow. Naruto looked down, holding her shoulders as he tried to speak.

"Y-You know I love you, right?" He asked, slowly looking up at the wary Hyuuga

"O-Of course" she answered warily, worried that something bad was about to happen. Naruto paused, thinking carefully before he spoke.

"Good... I just... You know how I feel about Sakura don't you?" he murmured, fighting the lump in his throat. Hinata went wide eyed as she listened to him, a hundred thoughts rushing through her mind. She managed to nod, holding tears in.

"She came around mine earlier, upset about the Hokage and Sasuke" He told her. She mentally sighed with relief, glad that he wasn't about to confirm her worst nightmares, but was broken out of her relief when Naruto continued to speak.

"We were both pretty sad, we talked about Tsunade, and... We kissed" Naruto mumbled, tears running down his face. Hinata froze, unable to believe what Naruto had just told her. She tried to speak, but just helplessly listened as Naruto continued to confess.

"She said she loved me, after years of chasing after her she finally told me she loved me. But I told her that I loved you Hinata. Then she said something that... I don't know, made me stop fighting her..." Hinata was freely crying by now, unable to move from her spot. She wanted to run away, not listen to what Naruto had to say, but she was unable to move from the spot.

"She said that even though I love you, I'll still love her, and she was right." Hinata fell to her knees at his last words, crying uncontrollably. Naruto kneeled down and lifted her head up so he was face to face with her. He was also crying, but carried on talking.

"But even though that may be true, I'll always love you more Hinata. If I had to choose between Sakura and you, I'd choose you. You complete me Hinata, through the whole time I was with Sakura; I was wishing that it was you. I was hoping that it was all some silly genjutsu and that it was actually you I was embracing and kissing, I-"Naruto was interrupted as Hinata slapped him across the face. He looked at her, surprise on his face as he looked at the weeping Hinata. He looked down and punched the floor, burying his hand in the earth.

"I don't deserve you Hinata, you deserve better than me" Naruto cried. He opened his eyes when he felt a warm hand hold his head up and looked into Hinata's eyes. They were bloodshot, dry tears on her cheeks from crying, a tint of hurt in her eyes.

"Please, don't hurt me like this again Naruto, I love you too much" She whispered, closing the distance between them and pressing her lips against his. He immediately pushed the kiss deeper, prying his hand from the ground and moving it to the back of her head, slowly moving her to the floor. When Hinata was finally lying on the floor, he withdrew from the kiss looking at her guiltily. She ignored his look and pulled him into another kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck. Naruto licked her lips to gain entrance, and they immediately parted, granting him entry. Naruto mentally smiled as he savoured her familiar taste, ignoring the slight saltiness from their tears. As they passionately kissed, Naruto's hand instinctively started to travel. His hand hovered above her right breast, and then massaged it gently, earning a groan of pleasure from Hinata. His hand then travelled further down, stroking her sides as he pressed his hips into hers without realising. Hinata raised her brow when she wondered what the hard thing pressing against her thigh was, and when she realised what it was, she blushed and withdrew from the kiss, breathing heavily. Naruto looked at her with questioning eyes, but she smiled slyly and slowly stood up, making Naruto follow her as she held his hand and walked down from the mountain. Naruto obediently followed, only able to think about where she might be taking him. On second thoughts, he didn't really care, he just wanted to pounce on her right there and resume what they were doing earlier. When they reached a tall wooden gate, Hinata turned around and pressed her finger to her lips, then opened the gate slowly and closed it when Naruto followed her. It was only when they stepped inside that Naruto realised that they were in the Hyuuga estate. Looking around, he silently admired the well kept garden and traditional style homes. They walked through the estate and stopped outside a medium size house, which Hinata pulled a key for out and unlocked the door, walking in and pulling Naruto in after her. She locked the door behind them and turned to Naruto, looking at him seductively. Naruto gulped at her unusual expression, it was a part of Hinata he had never seen before, but he liked it.

"Don't worry, this is my own house, no one's going to walk in on us" She whispered as she walked closer to him. Naruto furrowed his brow at her choice of words, but then it clicked when his teenage hormones took control. She leapt forward and kissed him deeply, pushing Naruto into the room behind him. He fell onto a queen sized bed, unable to keep his eyes off of Hinata as she turned and closed the door. She took off her jacket and threw it on the floor with her shoes, and walked seductively to Naruto, prowling along the mattress to him, kissing him until he laid down. They wrestled their tongues lustfully as they undressed each other, hands groping and moans of excitement escaping in the mean time. When they were both fully naked, Naruto tossed Hinata to the side and climbed on top of her, making her gasp in surprise.

"I prefer to be on top" Naruto grinned, kissing and nibbling at her neck. Hinata moaned, grasping at his hair with one hand and feeling his well toned stomach with the other. Naruto lowered slowly, kissing along the way until he reached her breasts. He licked and nibbled her breasts and nipples, earning even more moans of pleasure from Hinata. Her hand travelled lower, brushing against his stomach and finally reaching his member. As she brushed her fingers against it in curiosity, Naruto grunted and moaned, biting harder into her breast. She groaned with pleasure as she gripped his member, easing her grip as she saw a look of pain flash on Naruto's face. She began to stroke slowly and carefully as he kissed his way back up to her lips, wrestling with her tongue once more. His hand travelled down to her thighs, brushing against her clit on the way. Hinata gasped at the contact, startling Naruto at first, but then he made more contact with it, rubbing it gently as he analysed Hinata's reactions. She started to rub his member faster as his fingers went lower and found her entrance. He slipped one finger inside easily due to the wetness, so he slipped in a second, moving them in and out in a rhythm. Hinata rubbed faster as Naruto was taking her closer to her climax, making Naruto moan her name in their kiss. Naruto withdrew his fingers and took Hinata's hand away from his member, withdrawing from the kiss so he could look into her eyes. She was a little disappointed that he stopped when she was so close to her climax, but when Naruto mouthed "Are you ready?" she instantly nodded and placed a kiss on his lips. Naruto placed his member at her entrance, looking into her eyes as he slowly entered her. The pain was quickly replaced with pleasure when Naruto fully entered her, and when he stopped, looking at her to see if she was ok to continue, she nodded and pulled him into a passionate kiss. He went slowly at first, but then picked up speed, thrusting into her as they both moaned with pleasure. Soon enough, the pleasure built up and made Hinata scream as she orgasmed. As if it was a trigger, Hinata's screams of ecstasy made Naruto reach his climax and he released himself inside of her, calling out her name. When the moment subsided, they were both breathing heavily, exhausted. Naruto looked into Hinata's eyes, smiling back at her.

"I love you Hinata" He whispered

"I love you too Naruto" she replied, and with that the two retired under the sheets, falling asleep in each other's arms.

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**Well that was my first ever lemon, so sorry if it's terrible, say what you thought of it in a review so I can tell if it's bad or not xD **

**P.S. Try not to moan too much about the whole NaruSaku thing, this is still a NaruHina fic, so don't expect much more NaruSaku action xD I'm debating whether or not to have a SakuSasu pairing or not, review suggestions! :D**


	7. Funeral

**Hey guys, it feels like forever since I last posted a chapter, even though you've gotten two in one week! I may start doing that regularly... ****Anyway, thanks for the positive reviews and advice so far, enjoy chapter 7 of Confessions!**

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Hinata was gently woken up by a faint, warm touch on her cheek. She opened her eyes slowly to see Naruto staring at her, brushing some hair from her cheek. She smiled as he lowered himself, planting a small kiss on her lips.

"Good morning beautiful" Naruto whispered into her ear, planting another kiss on her cheek.

"Good morning" She smiled, starting to sit up. She stretched slowly as the blanket slowly fell down her, and looked toward Naruto when she saw his red face staring at her. She furrowed her brow, about to ask what was wrong when she looked down and saw her exposed naked chest. She instantly blushed a furious red and pulled the blanket up quickly to cover herself.

"I-I..." She mumbled, unable to speak through her embarrassment. Naruto scratched the back of his head before looking away and laughing nervously.

"Well... It's not like I haven't seen it before... I... Guess?" Naruto admitted, blushing more at his memory of last night. Hinata blushed an even deeper red, thinking back at how lustful she was last night. She thought back to the time that whenever she would talk to Naruto she'd either faint or mumble, and then thought about how her lustful side was the complete opposite of that, blushing even deeper.

"I-I... Better take a bath" Hinata mumbled, starting to get up whilst keeping herself covered with the blanket. She was stopped by a hand on her wrist, and turned around to see Naruto smiling warmly at her. Her eyes travelled downward toward his well toned stomach and then quickly back up again as she realised the blanket was no longer covering him. She looked forward again, attempting to hide her embarrassment.

"W-what is it Naruto?" She asked nervously, trying not to turn around to look at him. He sat up behind her and started to kiss her next, causing shivers to run down her spine. She bit her lower lip, holding in a groan.

"I'm glad last night happened, I've never felt closer to you" He whispered, embracing her "I love you Hinata" Hinata smiled and turned to kiss him on the lips.

"Me too, I'm just glad that you chose me and not..." Hinata swallowed a lump in her throat, unable to finish her sentence. Naruto hugged her again, kissing her on the forehead.

"I told you, you're the one I want to be with, forever and always" He assured her, kissing her deeply on the lips. He withdrew from the kiss, and before Hinata opened her eyes again, had already started to put his pants on.

"I'm going to head back to my place to get ready; my funeral clothes are over there, so I'll see you at the funeral, ok?" He smiled gently before leaning across the bed to kiss her, and then turned around to put on the rest of his clothes that had been thrown onto the floor from last night. When Naruto had gotten dressed and left, Hinata walked to the en suite, keeping the blanket around her whilst she ran the bath. She smelled the blanket, taking in Naruto's scent and smiled to herself.

"_Naruto..._" She thought to herself, remembering the passionate moment the two shared last night. She smiled to herself, thinking about their future together and the obstacles that they would inevitably face as a couple.

Naruto practically sprinted home. Even though it was early, people were already starting to gather in the streets in dark dress, whispering quietly amongst themselves. When Naruto arrived at his apartment, the door was already unlocked. He began to puzzle over it, but then remembered that he left Sakura there last night. He steeled himself for the inevitable emotional roller coaster before opening the door slowly. He was surprised to find his apartment empty and sighed in relief. He was about to place his keys on the table when he saw a letter on it addressed to him. He picked up the letter and opened it.

_Dear Naruto,_

_First off just let me say that I'm not mad at you for leaving me last night. I'm glad that you went to Hinata, and hopefully you didn't totally blame yourself when you told her about what happened between us (I know you did, you're incredibly predictable). I know that Hinata will forgive you, but in case she doesn't, just tell me and I'll apologise to her straight away. I just want you to be happy. Last night was special to me Naruto, thank you, and I'm sorry for any conflict that I've caused between you and Hinata. I'll see you at the funeral.__ I love you_

_Sakura_

Naruto placed the letter back down on the table, silent as he remembered last night with Sakura. It felt like it happened years ago, a past mistake that he would never hope to repeat again. As he thought this, he felt a strong pain in his chest and clutched it as tears ran down his face.

"_I can't act like what I did with Sakura meant nothing to me, it meant a lot, but not as much as last night with Hinata_" He thought, wiping the tears away from his face. "_Why now? It feels as if everything is happening at once... Tsunade's and Jiraiya's death, Sakura's confession, my first time with Hinata..." _He shook his head of his thoughts, deciding to deal with this after the funeral. He quickly showered and dressed in his funeral clothes. He breathed deeply as he looked into the mirror, trying to steady himself through the rush of memories, memories of the third's funeral. When he finally had his head straight he left his apartment and started walking to the funeral.

Hinata took longer than usual in the bath, mainly because of the... mess from last night, but also because she couldn't stop thinking about Naruto. It was as if their love had entered a new level, and she loved him more for it (if that was even possible). After finally washing, cleaning her room and dressing in her funeral clothes, she was about to leave when there was a knock on the door. She called for the person to come in, and was surprised when her father entered, also wearing funeral attire.

"F-Father?" She asked questioningly, furrowing her brow.

"Hinata..." Hiashi started "Did I see Naruto leave earlier?" The question caught her off guard, making her blush as she tried to think of an answer.

"U-Umm... Yes, he... Uhh... Came over to see me before the funeral, he didn't sleep over" she stuttered, waving her hands in front of her defensively. Hiashi sighed and rubbed his temple, unconvinced of her excuse.

"Do you think I'm blind? I saw you two sneak in here last night" Hiashi snapped, then tried to calm himself down as he saw Hinata flinch.

"O-Oh.. I-"

"I don't want to know" Hiashi interrupted, folding his arms "Just make sure that next time Naruto comes over, I see him. Invite him over after the funeral, I would like to talk about your relationship with him" Hinata nodded, looking at the floor like an eight year old child who was getting scolded for doing something wrong. Hiashi opened the door and motioned for Hinata to walk through first, closing the door after her. They met Neiji at the entrance and walked to the funeral together in silence.

Naruto was sat at front for the funeral, next to Kakashi and Shizune. Sakura was on the opposite side of Kakashi, but she avoided eye contact with Naruto, looking down whenever he caught her looking at him. Kakashi and Shizune both said a eulogy for her, and everyone from the front row placed a flower of their choosing; Naruto placed a lotus blossom on her coffin. At the end of the funeral, everyone either left for the collation or gathered into little groups, discussing about Tsunade or who the next Hokage will be. Naruto continued to look at the coffin as it was being buried. He wiped away tears as Kakashi placed a hand on his shoulder, nodding at him. Kakashi then turned to comfort Sakura, but she shrugged his hand off and followed the crowd to the collation. He sighed and comforted Shizune instead, walking her to the collation. Naruto remained deep in his thoughts until someone hugged him from behind. He looked down at the familiar hands and smiled sadly. He turned to see Hinata look into his eyes, comforting him with their relaxing lavender tone. He nodded, about to kiss her when someone interrupted them.

"Ahem." Hiashi coughed, somehow satisfied with Naruto's surprised reaction. Naruto instantly stepped away from Hinata, standing straight and placing his arms at his sides like a soldier.

"Mr Hiashi!" he almost shouted, trying to sound as formal as possible.

"Naruto" Hiashi greeted, trying not to smirk at Naruto's reactions "I would like to invite you over to the Hyuuga estate after the collation, to talk about you and my daughter" Naruto felt a chill run down his spine, feeling as if Hiashi wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"O-Of course" Naruto accepted, bowing. Hiashi nodded and then looked at Hinata to find her with her head down, completely avoiding eye contact. He sighed and rubbed his temple before leaving, muttering to himself. When Hiashi had left, Naruto straightened and sighed in relief, scratching the back of his head. He looked at Hinata, who was still staring at the floor and sighed heavily.

"_This is troublesome_" He thought, coining a phrase from Shikamaru.

When Naruto finally managed to snap Hinata out of her stupor, the two walked to the collation. People had already gotten food and were sitting around tables, talking in groups. Naruto's stomach growled at the sight of the buffet; starving because he had missed breakfast. He scratched the back of his head when he heard Hinata giggle at his hunger, then dragged her to the buffet. After the two chose their food, Ino waved them over to her table. Shikamaru, Temari, Gaara and Kankuro were also sat at the table, talking quietly as the pair walked over and sat down.

"Hey guys" Naruto greeted everyone, already starting to tuck into his food.

"So Naruto, I've heard a rumour of who the next Hokage will be..." Gaara started, but stopped when Naruto shot him a look and shook his head.

"Who's going to be the next Hokage?" Kankuro asked, now curious about the newly spilled information. Naruto swallowed his mouthful of food, trying to think of an answer without giving away that he was going to be the next Hokage; he wanted to keep it a secret.

"Apparently they're going to announce it in the collation, I really hope the next Hokage doesn't dump a load of paperwork on me" Shikamaru sighed, making Naruto sigh in relief, he couldn't really think of what to say.

"Well I think that the 'hero of Konoha' would make a good Hokage" Temari winked, laughing at Shikamaru's reaction. He almost choked on the piece of meat he was swallowing, gasping for breath.

"Naruto? Hokage? He might be incredibly strong, but I don't think he has the willpower to get through all the paperwork! ... No offence" Shikamaru blurted

"None taken" Naruto laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

"Are you ok Naruto?" Hinata whispered to him, suspicious about why he was acting so weird.

"O-Of course Hinata" Naruto grinned, giving her a thumbs up. Hinata was about to press him with more questions when Temari interrupted.

"So, are you two seeing each other?" She winked, laughing as the pair blushed.

"Y-Yeah we are, we haven't been together that long, but it feels like we were meant for each other" Naruto admitted, smiling as he saw Hinata blush even more. Ino clapped her hands excitedly, giggling girlishly to herself.

"I'm so glad for you two, I thought Naruto would never realise how much Hinata loved him!" She exclaimed, making Naruto blush even more.

"Well, I did only realise when she actually confessed to me during the Pain battle" He confessed, reminiscing about the battle. Ino sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I knew it, for Naruto to notice something, it either has to be extremely obvious or Ramen" she laughed, earning a bit of laughter from everyone; even Gaara.

"I thought you'd never get over Sakura!" She added jokingly. She stopped laughing when she noticed the pair furrowed their brows and looked down, did she hit a nerve? She was about to ask what was wrong, but was interrupted by Kakashi clearing his throat at the end of the room.

"Could I have everyone's attention please?" Kakashi called, continuing when everyone was looking in his direction.

"Thank you. I've heard some conversations about who the next Hokage will be, and it has been decided by the village council that the sixth Hokage will be Uzumaki Naruto." He announced, pointing toward Naruto. Everyone in the room looked at Naruto, either with their jaw slack or an expression of utter confusion. Kakashi beckoned Naruto next to him, waiting as Naruto nervously walked to his side, almost sweating from the attention he was receiving. When he turned to face the rest of the room, he scratched the back of his head sheepishly, grinning nervously. It wasn't until Kakashi nudged him with an elbow that he stopped.

"Speech" Kakashi whispered as Naruto looked up at him, face pleading for help. He nodded and swallowed nervously, coughing awkwardly before beginning.

"U-Umm..." Naruto started, and then looked around the room, becoming more and more nervous every time he saw a surprised face or an expression of disbelief. Naruto almost thought about going to the corner and assuming the fetal position before he saw Hinata. She was smiling widely at him, wiping away tears from her face. When their eyes met, Naruto eased a little, the calm lavender relaxing him to his core. He smiled and nodded, thanking her for her silent support. He cleared his throat, grinned his big cheesy grin and gave everyone a thumbs up.

"I'm going to be the best Hokage yet! I'll make Tsunade and everyone else proud!" He announced. Everyone blinked, surprised at Naruto's sudden burst of confidence. The silence was eventually broken by someone slowly clapping from the back of the room. Everyone turned to see who was clapping, gasping when they saw who it was. Sasuke was at the back of the room, still in a hospital gown, standing next to an IV, clapping and smiling proudly. Naruto smiled at the sight of his best friend clapping for him, wiping tears away from his eyes, grin widening as more and more people applauded him.

"Here's to the sixth Hokage! The hero of Konoha!" Someone cheered, creating whistles and even louder applause. Kakashi looked at Naruto, now scratching the back of his head and laughing, when he saw Minato standing beside him doing the same.

"_He's definitely your son Minato_" Kakashi thought, smiling as everyone surrounded Naruto, congratulating him on being made the next Hokage.

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**Well that's that chapter guys, this chapter felt like a filler chapter to me, but maybe that's because I'm comparing it to the juiciness of the last chapter xD**

**I chose a lotus flower for Naruto to place on her coffin because in Buddhism it symbolises eternal beauty, which I think suits Tsunade just fine (Couldn't really find a flower that symbolises big breasts lol) **

**I hope you're enjoying the story so far, I didn't really get as many reviews for the last chapter as I thought I would (I expected reviews on how wrong NaruSaku is or how terrible my lemon was xD), but I'm gonna take the review silence as a positive thing, if you're not complaining, you're enjoying it, right? **

**Anyway, see you next Monday for the next chapter!**

**P/S - Hooray! We've passed 10k words! Here's to 20k+! :)**


	8. Will

**Hey guys, sorry for the late update; was having a type 1 error meaning I couldn't logon, but they've fixed it now :D Anyways, enjoy chapter 8 of Confessions!**

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It was silent in the Hokage's room as an old man that Naruto had never seen before sat in the Hokage's chair, sorting through paperwork in his bag as two of his assistants laid a chest down next to the desk. It upset Naruto slightly that the stranger dare sit in Tsunade's chair a few hours after her funeral, but Naruto kept his emotions in check, folded his arms and looked at the floor. He closed his eyes and sighed, looking up when he felt an arm wrap around his own. Hinata gave him a reassuring smile, squeezing him tightly until Naruto eased a little and smiled back. She couldn't help but think how hard the reading of Tsunade's will was for him, especially just a few hours after her funeral, but she knew that he needed to be strong if he was to prove himself a good Hokage. Naruto held her hand, entwined their fingers and looked into her lavender eyes. He could be lost in her eyes forever; they made him forget his troubles and totally relaxed him. He peeked up past Hinata to see Kakashi observing them, giggling to himself quietly and probably thinking perverted thoughts.

"Is there something you'd like to say Kakashi?" Naruto asked, making the same scary face Yamato does. Kakashi's eyes widened and he shook his head slowly before turning to talk to Shizune. Naruto smiled and turned his attention back to Hinata, but frowned when she turned to face the door. He followed her line of vision to see that she was looking at Sakura, who had just arrived late. Naruto froze, steeling himself in case Hinata tried to attack Sakura, but his jaw dropped when the two started talking civilly. The two stopped and turned to face Naruto when they noticed that he was stuttering and pointing toward them. They both gave him a confused look until he finally spoke.

"A-Are you two talking to each other?" The two gave him an unimpressed look, convinced that Naruto was just being more stupid than usual.

"Of course we are idiot, what does it look like?" Sakura answered, rolling her eyes.

"B-But, I thought you'd be-"

"She apologised" Hinata interrupted, rubbing circles into his arm with her fingers "and I forgave her, you can't blame anyone for their feelings..." Naruto frowned as Hinata looked away. It was obvious it hurt her, but what hurt most was that Naruto couldn't do anything to fix it. He already apologized and told her he loved her more, what else could he do?

"Ahem" coughed the old man, adjusting his glasses as everyone's attention turned to him"Now that I have your attention... I'll start with the reading of the will." Everyone took a seat around the desk as the old man gathered papers, clearing his throat when everyone was seated.

"In the event of my death, it is my wish that this will be carried out as soon as possible after my funeral. Since I have no living relatives, I have chosen who I shall give my possessions. To Naruto; I leave you a chest. In it is what your parents left behind for you, which they wanted you to have at either the age of 18 or you had no legal guardian. I've also left you what is left of the money that Jiraiya gave me (don't worry; I only gambled a little away)"Naruto stared at the chest, tears tugging at his eyes as he thought about what mementos there would be of his parents in there.

"To Sakura; I leave all of my medical research, scrolls and instruments. Also, effective immediately I want you to assume my position as head doctor in the hospital" Sakura's eyes widened as she stared at the old man, speechless. She then looked at the table as hundreds of doubts ran through her head; sure she was a good medical ninja and the pupil of Tsunade, but would she be able to handle the job of head doctor? She was pulled out of her thoughts as Shizune placed her hand on Sakura's shoulder, smiling at her reassuringly. Sakura nodded back and took a deep breath in and out, nodding at the old man to continue.

"To Kakashi; I leave you all of Jiraiya's 'research notes' and 'Makeout Paradise' drafts."Kakashi's eye widened excitedly and he blushed a faint red. He had recently finished the latest book, so this material from the will should last ages!

"And finally, to Shizune; I leave you Tonton and the rest of my possessions; do with them as you see fit, and thank you for staying so loyal to me all these years." Tears fell freely down Shizune's cheeks as Kakashi wrapped an arm around her shoulders to pull her into a hug. She cried into his chest as everyone looked at the man who had coughed into his hand again to get everyone's attention. Deciding that Shizune wasn't going to stop crying anytime soon, he sighed and continued.

"Well that's all that was in the will, if no one else needs me I'll be going" Since there were no protests, the old man gathered his papers and left the room with his assistants. Naruto clenched his hand into a fist at the old man's insensitivity, how could he be so apathetic? He unclenched his fist when he felt Hinata's hand cup his cheek. He turned to once again look into her deep lavender eyes. Whenever he looked into those serene eyes, he calmed down in an instant. He smiled back as he held the hand and nuzzled into it, making her blush as he kissed her hand.

Everyone took off with their inheritance after the reading of the will. Shizune was going to ask Kakashi to go back to her place to 'comfort' her, but she was left hanging as he practically floated off with his inheritance, stuck in his perverted thoughts of what the material would contain. Sakura mumbled to herself annoyingly and she walked Shizune to her apartment, adding a mental note to hit her former tutor later. Naruto stood above the chest, hands itching to tear it open and explore the contents right there and then, but part of his mind nagged him to somehow take it home and open it there in privacy. As he measured the size of the chest and the width of the doorway, he scratched his head as he wondered how the assistants got it there in the first place; the chest was way too big to fit through the door! He sighed as he placed his hands behind his head, looking out of the window at the trees. It was then that the idea of taking the chest out of the window flickered to life in his mind, and without warning he summoned a few shadow clones to help him move it out of the window. When the shadow clones managed to get the chest onto the roof outside the window, Naruto jumped up to exit through the window when he had a feeling that he was forgetting something. He hit his face with his palm as he turned around to see the Hyuuga blushing, fiddling with her fingers and looking at the floor. Naruto furrowed his brow.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked, slightly concerned. She only acted like this with him now when she had something important or embarrassing to say.

"I-I don't mean to sound rude... But... You did say you would talk to my father..." Hinata mumbled, blushing deeper. She expected Naruto to jump on the chest and get carried away by his shadow clones, never seeing him again, but she was surprised when she looked up to see the yellow haired teen laughing and scratching his head.

"I did, didn't I?" He laughed heartily, jumping back into the room. He nodded at the shadow clones, who nodded back in reply and set off. When he saw Hinata furrow her brow, he walked closer to her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Don't worry, they're just taking the chest back to my apartment, I can see what's in it after we've talked to your father" Naruto smiled, tilting her head up so he could look into her soothing eyes. She smiled softly and nuzzled their noses, closing her eyes as Naruto closed the distance between them and pressed his lips against hers. She entangled her hands in his hair, pulling the kiss deeper. Soon enough, Naruto brushed her lips with his tongue for permission to enter, and she granted it hungrily, wrestling his tongue with hers. She lost herself in his taste as the passion of their kiss grew, making her hungry for more. Her hands moved down to his lower back, gripping his top in her fists as she pulled him closer. Her eyes widened as their hips started grinding and she felt something hard against her thigh. She tried to ignore the feeling and concentrate more on the kiss, but withdrew when she felt Naruto start to touch her breasts. They were both breathing heavily from their lack of air and their minds were spinning from the intensity of the contact, but Naruto still managed to give her a confused look. She slowly placed her hand on Naruto's that was placed on her breast and moved it away slowly. Naruto frowned, about to protest but stopped when he saw her shake her head and hug him again.

"I-I'm sorry Naruto... I..."

"It's okay" Naruto interrupted, wrapping his arms around her as he smiled and took in the sweet scent of her hair. "If I ever go too fast or do something you don't want me to, just say" Hinata nodded slightly, closing her eyes as Naruto stroked her hair. After a few silent minutes, he pried her from the embrace, earning him a frown of disapproval from her. Naruto smirked and held her hand as he started for the door.

"I think your father would be angry if we took any longer" Naruto laughed, smiling as he saw Hinata glance at the clock. The pair jogged to the Hyuuga compound, trying to make up for lost time. Hinata could easily keep up with Naruto, but he seemed to forget that he had better stamina than her, so he ended up giving her a piggy back when he found out he was half dragging her. As she climbed onto his back, she breathed heavily by his ear, still trying to catch her breath. Naruto smiled at the warm breath on his ear, but gulped when he felt her breasts squeeze into his back. He licked his lips as he started having perverted thoughts of him fondling with her breasts, but snapped out of it when Hinata poked his cheek; he nearly ran into a lamp post. Laughing sheepishly, he swerved around the post and jogged on, enjoying Hinata's warmth as he hugged onto him tightly. When they finally reached the entrance to the Hyuuga compound, Hinata was impressed to see that Naruto hadn't even broken a sweat when she got off of him, he was even breathing normally. Naruto smiled and reached his hand out to hold hers, and as she took his hand the two entered the compound, steeling themselves for the 'talk' with Hiashi.

Sakura sighed as she bent down to pick up the keys she had just dropped. Lately she had been emotionally drained and highly unmotivated to do anything. It seemed as though bad luck was on her side, and everything bad that could happen happened at the same time. First there was Sasuke turning a blind eye to her, then there was the Naruto situation, and now she's been made head doctor! Her eyes narrowed as the door creaked open as she pushed the key in; it was already open. Taking her gloves from her pocket, she slid them on quietly and edged the door open. Stepping in carefully, she froze as she saw a familiar figure sitting in a chair in the corner.

"S-Sasuke?" She exclaimed, narrowing her eyes as she looked into his crimson ones. Sasuke laughed manically, sending a chill down Sakura's spine. She took a step forward to reach out to him, and her eyes widened as he disappeared and reappeared right in front of her, face to face.

"Not exactly" He grinned "Tsukuyomi"

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**DUN DUN DUNNNNNNN! Oh cliffhangers, where would I be without you? :P**


	9. Doubt

**Early Chapter to celebrate: 10,000+ hits, 50 Reviews and 20,000+ words! And it's all thanks to you guys!**

**Enjoy chapter 9 of Confessions!**

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Naruto nervously sipped at his tea, his gaze concentrated on the table. Hiashi sat across from Naruto, observing the young Hokage as he drank his tea. Naruto used his peripherals to check the blank space next to him; Hinata was told to wait in her room so that Hiashi could talk to Naruto alone. Not that there had been much talking so far, just fiv-six minutes of awkward silence. Naruto mentally sighed as he finally set the cup down on the table for the first time since he was given it; he kept sipping at the cup so he wouldn't have to start a conversation. Now staring at the cup on the table, he cupped his hands, savoring the dissolving warmth from the tea.

"_This is so awkward..." _Naruto thought "_He's my girlfriend's father, so I have to get along with him, but we have nothing to say to each other! Plus he just has a weird presence that makes me feel so awkward! Me! The Hokage! It's felt like so long since I talked I could probably go into sage mode and-" _

"Ahem" Hiashi coughed into his hand, breaking Naruto out of his thoughts. He looked up to meet the gaze of a stoic Hiashi, unable to look away from his cold, white eyes. A bead of sweat rolled across his face as he swallowed a lump in his throat.

"I-I-I..." Naruto stuttered, causing Hiashi to raise his eyebrow.

"You what?" Hiashi asked, intrigued that Naruto didn't mentally break from his gaze and run out of the room crying. However, he started to get impatient when Naruto stuttered incoherently, so he closed his eyes to calm himself down.

"_This is our Hokage..."_ Hiashi thought to himself as he sighed. Hiashi was about to tell Naruto to say what he had to say or be quiet, but his eyes went wide and he stood as an anbu member broke into the room.

"Hokage! I'm sorry for interrupting, but I bring urgent news!" exclaimed the anbu, bowing in apology to Hiashi before kneeling toward Naruto. Semi-relieved for the distraction, Naruto diverted his attention to the anbu member, nodding at him to continue.

"Sakura Haruno has been kidnapped!" informed the anbu, gasping as he was picked up by a frantic Naruto.

"What? Where is she?" Shouted Naruto, shaking the anbu. Startled by Naruto's actions, the anbu couldn't manage to answer the Hokage, panicking Naruto further, but he sighed in relief as Naruto stopped shaking him, looking at the hand placed on his shoulder.

"That is no way that the Hokage should act" Hiashi intercepted, gripping Naruto's shoulder. Naruto's expression contorted and he let go of the anbu, taking a deep breath to steady himself. Hiashi nodded at the grateful anbu to continue.

"She was kidnapped not long ago and taken east-" The anbu stopped as Naruto started for the door, swinging it open.

"H-Hokage! Please wait!" The anbu cried, going wide eyed as he saw Naruto's determined expression. The anbu carried on without waiting for Naruto to ask what he wanted; his eyes told him that he'd better say what he needed in the next five seconds or he'd be dead.

"You're not allowed to go with the search party! You're needed here!" The anbu pleaded, sighing as Naruto turned to leave.

"The kidnapper was reported as a man with black hair and red eyes!" The anbu shouted, hoping that that would get through to him. It did. Naruto froze on the spot, turning to face the anbu with a wide eyed, shocked expression.

"Sasuke?" Naruto murmured, furrowing his brow as the anbu stood up.

"It's is unconfirmed that the kidnapper is Sasuke Uchiha, but he could not be found at his residence" the anbu answered, looking down at the floor, relieved that he had succeeded in stopping Naruto. Naruto took a deep breath and closed his eyes. It seemed that Sasuke really had kidnapped Sakura, but why? Naruto pushed the thoughts aside, deciding to puzzle on it later, deciding that being a leader- a Hokage was more important right now. He opened his eyes and turned to the anbu member, who was averting his gaze by looking at the floor. He then looked at Hiashi, who was still looking at him with a stoic expression with a hint of curiosity; he was probably wondering how Naruto would go about handling the situation. Deciding that he should deal with the situation as to not look unworthy in Hiashi's eyes, Naruto looked at the anbu again.

"I want you to gather a search team consisting of Kiba Inuzuka, Neiji Hyuuga and Shikamaru Nara. Tell them only to find Sakura's location and report right back, I don't want them interacting if we don't know the full details." Naruto ordered, making the anbu look up at him in disbelief.

"_Is this really the same person from a moment ago?_" The anbu thought.

"What are you waiting for? Go!" Naruto commanded, irritation in his voice.

"Y-Yes Hokage!" The anbu replied before disappearing to carry out his orders. Naruto clenched his fists, fighting back tears. He felt totally useless. Becoming Hokage meant protecting everyone, and he had failed to do that not even two days into it; and it was someone close too! Hiashi frowned as he looked at the troubled Hokage. A few seconds ago he was calm, collected and gave orders perfectly; so now he was going to let his emotions take over again? His eyes widened slightly as he saw blood drip from Naruto's hand; he had buried his nails so deep into his fist that it actually drew blood. Naruto ignored the pain, right now he was trying to fight back the tears. He didn't want to look weak in front of Hiashi... Hell, he didn't even care about that right now, he was more concerned about Sakura. Naruto looked up slowly as he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. He looked up to see the stoic Hyuuga who looked right into his eyes. Tears retreated and his fists began to unclench; something about Hiashi's eyes relaxed him. Maybe it was because Hinata and Hiashi both had the same eyes, but Hinata's warm, loving eyes were worlds different from Hiashi's cold, calculating ones.

"I-I'm sorry" Naruto apologized hoarsely, eyes closed as he faced the floor "You must think I'm a terrible Hokage, and an even worse boyfriend for your daughter, I can't even protect my friends and I-"

"I don't think that Naruto" Hiashi interrupted, meeting Naruto's eyes once more "I must admit, I do think you rely on your emotions too much, but that isn't such a bad thing. I'd rather a Hokage that cares for the people than one that doesn't. However, you also showed me that you can overcome your emotions to analyze a situation and take the necessary actions; a necessary trait for a Hokage" Naruto smiled at his positive comments, warming Hiashi. He signaled for Naruto to sit back down and he poured them another cup of tea.

"But Naruto" Hiashi started, causing Naruto to stop sipping from his tea. "You must realize that now you're the Hokage, you won't be able to be on the front lines; you must stay where you are needed the most and act in such a way that would benefit everyone, not just the person in question; the needs of many outweigh the few." Naruto thought about Hiashi's words of wisdom as the reality of the situation hit home.

"_Am I really worthy of being Hokage?_" Naruto asked himself. Hiashi noticed that Naruto had only grown more dispirited through the conversation; this approach didn't seem to work, so he would have to try another one.

"You remind me a lot of your father" Hiashi stated, grinning mentally as it caught Naruto's attention. "He was guided by his emotions, more of a fighter than a democrat; he hated sitting at that desk" Hiashi quietly chuckled and sipped his tea as he thought back to the Yondaime throwing paperwork frustratingly out of the window, then nearly ripping his hair out as he realized he would need to do it all again.

"Just like every Hokage before him, he faced a big learning curve in the beginning, so don't let it dispirit you, you're doing fine" Hiashi reassured a now beaming Naruto.

"Thanks Hiashi!" Naruto grinned, drinking the rest of his tea. Hiashi nodded and finished his too before returning his stare at Naruto.

"Now we can discuss your relationship with my daughter..." Hiashi began, making a chill ran up Naruto's spine as he gulped.

"O-Okay" Naruto agreed, steeling himself for the tongue lashing he would receive.

"She's been the happiest I've seen her since you first kissed outside the estate" Hiashi stated, making Naruto's jaw drop and eyes widen.

"Y-You saw us?" Naruto asked, blushing as he flinched slightly.

"Yes" Hiashi stated "I also know that you've... committed some acts that should be saved for after marriage..." he explained through gritted teeth. He wasn't personally angry at Naruto, but it was more of a fatherly obligation that he be mad at Naruto for taking away his daughter's virginity. Naruto's face was extremely pale, he had begun to suspect that Hiashi had been spying on them throughout their relationship.

"But" Hiashi continued "I am glad that you are the boy she has committed her heart to. You have my blessing Naruto, but just know that if you cause her pain... I'll kill you in a flash, Hokage or no" Hiashi stated through narrowed eyes, sending a chill down Naruto's spine as he nodded furiously. Hiashi sighed and closed his eyes, briefly thinking back to the memories of his deceased wife, but snapped out of his thoughts as to not leave an awkward silence.

"You two will become a powerful couple in political terms." Hiashi started, ignoring Naruto's confused expression "Hinata will be the next Hyuuga family head, and since she will be married to the Hokage-"Hiashi looked at Naruto to see what his reaction would be when he mentioned marriage, but was surprised when he saw Naruto smile to himself at the mention of it. Feeling somehow relieved at Naruto's reaction, he carried on.

"Any decision she will want to make will be met with no protest; for a decision to be passed by the head it must either be accepted by the Hokage or council. Now I'm not as foolish as the council, I know that Hinata doesn't accept some of the traditions like they do, so the first thing she will do when she comes to power is to merge the branch and main family. When she requests this Naruto... I want you to pass it" Naruto was slightly taken back by his request. He had thought that Hiashi would want the families to remain how they were, not merge. He knew that the caged bird seal was inhumane, but he thought that Hiashi thought it was necessary – maybe he did have a sensitive side after all.

"I promise I'll merge the families and get rid of the bird caged seal! I did promise Neiji that I'd get rid of the seals, so I think it's about time I did!" Naruto grinned, giving Hiashi a thumbs up.

"Thank you Hokage" Hiashi thanked Naruto, making him nervously chuckle and rub the back of his head.

"Just call me Naruto! I'm never going to get used to being called Hokage..."

"Very well, thank you Naruto. There is one last request I have for you" Hiashi added, taking a deep breath before continuing. "It may seem a bit early to warn you since you're both only 16, but if Hinata isn't engaged before turning 18, then a marriage will be arranged for her, so if you wish to be with Hinata for the rest of your life, I suggest you propose before then. That is all I wish to discuss, until next time Ho- Naruto." Hiashi added before getting up and leaving the room. Naruto stared wide eyed at the wall opposite; Hiashi's word's ringing in his head.

"_If Hinata isn't engaged before turning 18, then a marriage will be arranged for her"_

Until the conversation he had just had with Hiashi, marriage had been the last thing on his mind. Sure, he wanted to marry Hinata sometime in the future and even start a family, but he hadn't even imagined of doing all that before turning 18! They hadn't even been together that long and their relationship had developed so quickly. Sure he loved Hinata, but he didn't like the idea of being married to anyone at such a young age; especially someone he had only been in a relationship with for not even a month. But he also felt okay with it, it shouldn't matter how old you are or how long you've been together, all that matters is that you love each other. Naruto smiled as he thought back to the night that he and Hinata made love, but then frowned as he remembered the betrayal he committed before that. Sakura. The only girl he had ever loved apart from Hinata. Still loved? He didn't really have an answer for that anymore. After more than three years of loving a girl, constantly chasing after her, how could he not still love her? Thinking about this only made him worry about how she was doing now.

"_Never again..."_ Naruto thought as a tear rolled down his cheek and hit the hard, wooden table. He wiped his cheek, feeling sick of all of these things that seemed to be happening all at once. He just wished that he could lie down and watch the clouds like Shikamaru, but the busy lifestyle of the Hokage wouldn't allow any of that. He punched the table, trying to push aside the thoughts; right now he just wanted to be at Hinata's side. He walked out of the main building and across the green to Hinata's house, knocking on the door. After a few minutes with no reply, he knocked again. When that had no reply either, he furrowed his brow and walked inside.

"Hinata?" he called, only to be answered with silence. He slowly walked forward and pushed the door to her bedroom open before calling again.

"Hinata?" This time he got a reply in the form of mumbling and moaning, which he saw originated from a sleeping Hinata. He smiled warmly to himself at the blissful sight; just watching her sleep made his eyes feel heavy. Deciding it was best not to wake her up, he turned to close the door again, but stopped when he got an idea. He smiled as he closed the bedroom door, tip toeing to the bed, and then undressing before climbing in next to her. She shuffled slightly as Naruto wrapped his arms around her, kissing her forehead. Her eyes opened slightly and she smiled as she saw who climbed in next to her, hugging closer to him.

"You took your time" She whispered, nuzzling into his chest

"Sorry about that, I just had to talk to Hiashi about some Hokage stuff" He answered in a hushed tone, nuzzling her hair. She sighed contently, looking up at Naruto's face. She was happy that he had gotten along with her father, but she could see from his expression that he was troubled by something.

"What's wrong?" She asked, placing a small kiss on his lips. Hinata waited as he paused, looking hesitant as to whether to tell her or not.

"Sakura was kidnapped" Naruto answered after a brief silence. Hinata's eyes widened in shock. Before Hinata could speak, Naruto explained the situation further.

"I've already sent out a search team, so we should have some information soon" Hinata nodded and then sat up quickly as there was a knock on the door. Looking at Naruto to see if he was expecting company, he wore a puzzled look, he was as confused as she was.

"Hokage?" A familiar voice called, breaking the silence. Naruto sat up.

"What information do you have?" Naruto asked, eager for any new leads.

"I think I should give you this information face to face Hokage..." The anbu mumbled. Naruto grunted and got out of bed to get dressed. Hinata blushed as she saw his naked form, but he didn't seem that bothered by it.

"I'll be right back" He whispered as he leaned across the bed, kissing Hinata briefly on the lips. He opened the door to see the same anbu from earlier, kneeled as always. Naruto closed the door before motioning for the anbu to stand.

"Well?" He asked, growing impatient.

"Yes, well Sakura has been found by the search team. They have been taken to a cave not far east from here."

"Any information on her captors?" The anbu hesitated before answering his question, looking briefly at the floor and then back up again.

"Sasuke Uchiha is not one of the captors, he is at his residence being questioned, however... One of the captors is reported to be Itachi Uchiha" Naruto's eyes widened at the mention of his name.

"Didn't Sasuke kill him?" Naruto puzzled

"Yes he did Hokage, but it will become comprehensible when I explain who the other captors are; Madara Uchiha and Kabuto Yakushi. It would appear that Kabuto has learned the Edo Tensei jutsu from Orochimaru, as he has also changed his appearance to look more... snake-like." Naruto's grunted, trying to think of what move to make next.

"Right" Naruto started, looking at the anbu with a determined expression. "I want you to assemble Rock Lee, Hatake Kakashi, Choji Akimichi, Ino Yamanaka, Sasuke Uchiha and Yamato and assemble them into these teams; team one will be the Inoshikacho formation, team two will be Kakashi, Sasuke and Yamato and team three will be Lee, Neiji and Kiba. Tell them that if they require any assistance to send a call for help and I will be there immediately"

"Yes Hokage!" the anbu replied, disappearing once again to carry out his orders.

"_Good luck everyone"_ Naruto thought as he opened the bedroom door and went back in.

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**Next chapter will have fight scenes, which should be fun since I've never written a fight scene before! Ah well, hope you enjoyed the chapter, review and fave :)**


	10. Rescue Part 1

**Hey guys, sorry for the update, been busy lately organising things for my 18****th****. Tenth chapter now guys! This story is becoming more developed than I thought it would be! I'm just glad that so many people enjoy it . Anyway, enjoy chapter 10 of Confessions!**

**(P.S If the text is in bold and italic, then it's a flashback, just italic is thoughts)**

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The rays of the morning sun penetrating the forest trees flickered as the ninjas jumped from tree to tree. Sasuke, Kakashi and Yamato headed the formation, whilst lee was in the middle, and Ino and Chouji were at the back. Kakashi glanced back at the rest of the assault team to see how they were holding up. Chouji looked as though he was starting to run out of breath and was holding his leg, almost hopping, but became revitalized when an angry Ino shouted at him.

"What did I tell you? Don't you dare give up now! I don't want to fall too far behind!" Ino shouted, waving her fist at him. Kakashi chucked to himself, and then looked at Lee to see how he was doing. He was looking at Sasuke wearily, but when he noticed Kakashi looking at him he grinned and gave him a thumbs up.

"_He's exactly like Gai..."_ Kakashi thought, sighing before facing forward again. He looked at Yamato who nodded at him and nodded back. Finally, he looked at Sasuke, who looked as though he was deep in thought. He couldn't help but think of how hard this was for him, having to kill his own brother again, but he was the only one who could match Itachi's sharingan. He sighed, thinking back to when he told Sasuke of the mission.

_**-Flashback-**_

_**Sasuke landed gracefully outside of the gate, muttering under his breath and wearing an irritated expression, catching the chattering Kakashi's and Yamato's attention. They stopped talking and both narrowed their eyes at him, refusing to say or do anything until the Uchiha made his next move. The air between them was tense; he may have returned to Konoha and got his ninja rank back, but that doesn't mean that he had gained everyone's trust. Several minutes of silence and intense staring were broken as Chouji arrived, followed by a raging Ino. **_

"_**You shouldn't eat right before an important mission! You'll cramp up and become a liability!" Shouted Ino, pointing at the bag of chips he had. Chouji rolled his eyes, stuffing several more chips into his mouth. **_

"_**I'll be fine! Besides, I had a meal before the "exercise" we had earlier, and I had no complaints then..." Chouji grinned, making Ino blush furiously.**_

"_**You IDIOT! Shut up!" Ino shouted, raising her fist to hit him, but stopping when Kakashi cleared his throat. Ino looked at Kakashi and blushed again as she lowered her fist, muttering an apology. Chouji grinned and emptied the rest of the chips into his mouth, throwing the bag in a nearby bin. Kakashi rolled his eye before returning his attention to Sasuke, who grunted and scowled at Ino's and Chouji's appearance and leaned on a nearby wall, catching Ino's attention.**_

"_**Sasuke!" Ino exclaimed, running over to him. Chouji looked totally rejected as Ino fussed over Sasuke, who was trying his best to blank her out. His attempts at ignoring her failed though, as Sasuke got visibly more and more irritated. He looked as he was about to snap and shout at her, but he simply faced Kakashi with a calm expression.**_

"_**What's the 'S' rank mission we were all called out here for?" Sasuke asked, folding his arms. He had a hint of relief in his expression as Ino calmed down and furrowed her brow.**_

"_**Yeah, why are we here?" She asked**_

"_**It must be pretty important if Naruto specifically asked us to do this, and with so many of us" Chouji added, walking to Ino's side, brushing his hand against hers as she hit it away, giving him a warning glance. Kakashi noticed the tension between the two, wondering if they were secretly a couple, but dismissed the thought instantly; it wasn't the time or the place for that.**_

"_**I agree" Lee added, appearing at Chouji's side, giving Sasuke a weary look before smiling at Kakashi. Kakashi turned to Yamato, who nodded at him nervously, a bead of sweat running down the side of his head. Kakashi closed his eye for a moment and opened it again before explaining the mission.**_

"_**Sakura has been kidnapped and taken to a cave in the east" Kakashi stated. Lee's, Ino's and Chouji's eyes widened slightly, shocked at the news. He had expected that reaction from them, but was surprised to see that Sasuke also has a shocked reaction to the news. His eyes widened, a flash of concern in them as his expression paled for an instance before returning back to his usual stoic expression.**_

"_I didn't think Sasuke would react to the news, even for an instant." __**Kakashi thought "**__I just hope he doesn't react too badly when I explain further..." _

"_**So far it has been revealed that there are three people holding her; Madara, Kabuto and... Itachi" Kakashi looked at Sasuke, who looked back at him with wide eyes in disbelief.**_

"_**...Impossible." Sasuke muttered. Kakashi frowned and shook his head, feeling only sympathy for Sasuke. **_

"_**Kabuto revived him with Orochimaru's edo tensi technique" Yamato stated, making Sasuke clench his fist and look at the floor.**_

"_**We've been ordered to rescue Sakura, and if we have to; kill her captors" Yamato continued. It became silent, the air tense, and a heavy weight felt as though it had been placed on Sasuke's chest. **_

"_Damn you Kabuto! I swear I'll kill you with my own hands!__**" Sasuke swore to himself, fighting back tears. He took a deep breath and looked up as he felt a hand on his shoulder. Kakashi looked at him with concern, sympathy in his voice.**_

"_**Sasuke... We need to save Sakura. If you don't want to fight Itachi, then I'll-"**_

"_**No" Sasuke interrupted, removing Kakashi's hand from his shoulder. Kakashi took a step back as he saw determination in his teary eyes. "I will face Itachi" Sasuke muttered, walking forward. Kakashi was about to protest, but Yamato interrupted.**_

"_**Well now you all know the situation, I'll tell you our teams. Shikamaru, Neiji and Kiba are already there waiting for us. The teams will be Ino, Chouji and Shikamaru. Lee, Kiba and Neiji. Kakashi, Sasuke and I" Yamato listed, looking at the doubt in their expressions. He didn't blame them, they were about to face powerful opponents, and this was an extremely dangerous mission; they may not come back alive.**_

"_**Don't underestimate yourselves; you'll all be fine as long as you stay in your teams." Yamato assured everyone. His encouraging words seemed to pick everyone's spirits up, as they nodded and smiled at him, except Sasuke, who still had his back turned to everyone, fist still clenched. Kakashi walked past him and turned to everyone, trying not to look at Sasuke so he could have time to think on his own. **_

"_**Lee stay behind us, and Ino and Chouji bring up the rear. Let's go!" Kakashi commanded, turning when everyone nodded in acknowledgement. Kakashi glanced at Sasuke, who raised his head to look at him with a stoic expression, but he could see in his eyes that Sasuke was troubled. Kakashi sighed, turned and started east.**_

_**-End Flashback-**_

Kakashi snapped out of his thoughts, looked into the distance and saw the cave; they would reach it shortly. However, Kakashi stopped as he saw a kunai lodged into a tree pointing north.

"A marker" Yamato pointed out, looking in the direction of the kunai. Kakashi nodded and dislodged the kunai, signalling for everyone to follow him as he went north. He stopped again when he saw Shikamaru waving them over and landed next to him, following him to a camp site. Shikamaru walked up to a tent and went in it as Kakashi and the others waited outside. Akamaru was sleeping outside the tent, opening an eye as the ninjas came closer to the campsite, but then closed it again, going back to sleep. After a few moments Shikamaru came back out of the tent, followed by Neiji and Kiba.

"Any activity since the last report?" Kakashi asked Shikamaru, not wanting to waste any time with formalities.

"None whatsoever, they're still camped outside of the cave" Neiji answered, who was looking east with his activated byakugan. Kakashi nodded in acknowledgement and turned to face Shikamaru again.

"Well then we should leave as soon as possible. If we stay here any longer, then they may find out we're here." Kakashi told Shikamaru, who nodded in approval.

"I agree, but a surprise attack will be pointless; they're expecting us. But before that, we should go over battle tactics with everyone" Shikamaru suggested. Kakashi nodded and rounded everyone up in a circle to discuss what they needed to do.

"The first thing we need to do is draw out and distract the targets from Sakura. Yamato and Kakashi will distract Madara, whilst Sasuke takes Itachi. Ino, Chouji and I will take on Kabuto. Neiji, Lee and Kiba; I don't want you joining in the fighting; I want you to go around the side and rescue Sakura when you get the opportunity. If you rescue Sakura and she is willing to fight however, I want you to help whoever needs it; Sakura's medical jutsu as well as Ino's will be a big boost." Shikamaru explained, looking around to check if everyone understood. Everyone nodded; clear of their roles, so Shikamaru looked at Kakashi, waiting for him to give the order to move out. He looked down for a moment, silent as though thinking something through before looking up again.

"This is going to be a serious battle. You or your friends may die, so if you want to take a moment to say farewells I understand" Kakashi stated, watching their reactions. Sasuke and Kiba were deep in thought, Lee and Neiji were looking in the direction of Konoha, Shikamaru was looking at something he was holding in his hand and Chouji took Ino's hand in his as she leaned her head on his shoulder, worried expressions on their faces. Kakashi turned to Yamato who just nodded at him, and since no one voiced any complaints, Kakashi gave the order to move out.

After they had cleared up camp in an uneasy silence, everyone started for the cave. They stopped in the forest about 300 feet away from the cave to observe Sakura and her captors. Sakura was tied up in a chair, attempting to scream through the rag in her mouth. Kabuto was stood next to her, ignoring her muffled screams, watching an unmoving Itachi on the opposite side of Sakura. Madara was further in front of the three, talking to a man that looked more like a plant, and was half black and white. Kakashi furrowed his brow and looked at Shikamaru who shrugged. When he turned to look back however, the half black and white man disappeared into the ground.

"_He must have a special jutsu-" _Kakashi thought, but froze when Madara looked straight at him. Yamato turned to look at Kakashi with a shocked expression.

"_He can see us? But we've lowered our chakra levels... It must have been that black and white man..." _Kakashi thought. He stood as he saw Madara waving at the group, making everyone else realise that he had seen them. Kakashi cursed under his breath before turning to the rest of the group.

"Everyone follow me, don't make a move until I give a signal" Kakashi ordered, jumping down and walking toward Madara. He stopped several feet away from Madara and glanced at Sakura. She had stopped screaming at the sight of the group, but started to struggle even more. Kabuto grinned at the new company and walked to Madara's side, followed by a stoic Itachi.

"Well well, what a coincidence seeing you lot out here, on a picnic are we?" Kabuto grinned, slipping his tongue out in a snake like fashion. Kakashi ignored him, keeping his eye on Madara.

"We've come for Sakura" Kakashi stated, making Kabuto grin. He was about to say something, but Madara raised his hand.

"You can have her back... If you give us your Hokage" Madara offered, lowering his arm. Lee scoffed, pointing at Madara.

"A trade? How about we just take her from you?" Lee exclaimed, making Madara chuckle.

"I see that you have a lively one Kakashi, but at least he isn't afraid to voice what you are all thinking. Very well, if you won't be reasonable, then you're welcome to try and take her from us" Madara taunted. Kakashi glanced at Sakura once more before lifting the headband covering his eye.

"Let's go everyone!" Kakashi shouted, throwing a kunai at Madara. As the kunai passed through Madara, he charged a chidori and charged at him, but Madara sunk into the floor, coming back up behind Kakashi and began to punch him, but Yamato used his wood jutsu and knocked him away. Releasing his chidori, Kakashi nodded at Yamato in thanks and then turned to face Madara, who rubbed his head and got back up, irritated at being knocked down.

Kabuto was enjoying watching their fight, and started to turn to watch Sasuke and Itachi fight, but couldn't. He looked down to see his shadow stretched, and followed it to find it attached to Shikamaru's.

"Attacking me when I'm not ready? How cowardly! No matter, what do you plan to do now? You can't keep me like this forever" Kabuto grinned as he slowly started to move his right arm.

"I don't have to" Shikamaru grinned. Kabuto's eyes widened slightly as he looked to his right just in time to see Chouji's oversized fist connect with his face, sending him flying. He recovered quickly, jumping backward, stood and laughed, snapping his dislocated jaw back into place, disgusting Chouji and Shikamaru.

"Is that all you have? Pathetic!" Kabuto laughed, starting to move forward but stopped when he heard someone behind him.

"Mind transfer techni-" Ino started, but stopped as he turned into hundreds of snakes. She cursed under her breath, watching as the snakes travelled in all different directions.

"Damn" Ino grunted, looking at Shikamaru and Chouji who were also watching the snakes. Shikamaru's eyes widened as he looked at Ino and pointed at her.

"Behind you!" He shouted, making her turn around to see Kabuto grinning behind her.

"Peek a boo!" Kabuto laughed, picking her up with his snake tail and throwing her at Shikamaru, sending them into Chouji who caught them both.

"This is _boring_! I want some fun!" Kabuto laughed manically, sending chills through their spines. Ino and Chouji looked at Shikamaru, hoping that he had come up with a plan; and sure enough he was kneeled down with his eyes closed, fingers connected at the tips in his thinking pose. He slowly opened his eyes and looked up at the pair and he stood up, and then looked at Kabuto.

"Right, here's what we're going to do" Shikamaru whispered, still keeping his eye on the grinning Kabuto.

Sasuke did all he could to keep his emotions in check as he stared into the crimson eyes of the man in front of him. Memories flooded back at him, threatening to overwhelm him and make him break down. Itachi stood still, not making a sound as he looked at Sasuke.

"You have my eyes" Itachi stated coldly, as if he was merely stating the weather. Sasuke's eyes narrowed, never moving from Itachi's.

"And you have mine" Sasuke replied, activating his sharingan. He wasn't about to let Itachi have any openings; since he also had the eternal mangekyou this battle was going to be way more difficult than their last.

"You're hesitant" Itachi stated, looking at Sasuke's shaking hand holding a kunai. Sasuke grunted, trying to calm himself, but whatever he did he couldn't help shaking.

"I know the truth Itachi" Sasuke muttered, making Itachi's eyes widen slightly before returning to their usual stoic expression. Itachi grunted, pulling a kunai out of his sleeve.

"I knew Madara would tell you... Well it doesn't matter, I know I'm being selfish, but I need you to kill me again Sasuke" Itachi commanded, pointing the kunai at Sasuke. A tear fell down Sasuke's cheek; he couldn't hold his emotions anymore.

"Why? We can finally be brothers again! Please Itachi! Don't do this!" Sasuke exclaimed in a hoarse voice, tears streaming down his face. Itachi seemed unaffected by Sasuke's outburst, but he lowered the kunai to his side.

"There is no point, my actions are not my own; Kabuto is controlling me. Besides; I'm a terrible brother" Itachi muttered in a soft tone, chuckling lightly.

"You're not, you protected me the whole time and I didn't even know... If anything, I'm the bad brother" Sasuke protested, looking away from Itachi, unable to face him.

"I _need_ you to kill me Sasuke, think of it as a last request. If not for me, then do it for Sakura; I know your feelings for her, I can read your heart like an open book Sasuke" Itachi smiled. Sasuke's eyes widened, his feelings for Sakura definitely weren't obvious, yet Itachi could tell. He looked at Sakura, who was looking right back at him with happiness in her eyes; happiness that Sasuke came to save her, that he really did care. Sasuke smiled at her and returned his gaze to Itachi, wiping the tears from his eyes and returning to his usual stoic expression.

"I've killed you once, killing you again won't be a problem" Sasuke dictated, his hand now steady, pointing the kunai at Itachi. Itachi's smile faded as his mangekyou sharingan activated, making Sasuke activate his own.

"Here I come, Sasuke" Itachi murmured, charging at Sasuke.

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**Please rate and review, and tell me if my fight scenes are any good xD If they aren't, I'd be glad if you could give me some constructive criticism :D Also, I may release the next chapter early to make up for this one being late, hope you enjoyed the chapter guys! Aza out ~**


	11. Rescue Part 2

**I know that I promised an early chapter, but this is kind of early, so it counts :P But if that isn't good enough, this chapter is extra long! And has a lemon! Enjoy :D**

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Beams of light pierced through the curtains and hit Naruto's eyes, awakening him from his slumber. He started to stir and raised his hand in front of his face to block the light before slowly opening his eyes. When his eyes had focused, he moved his hand and looked down at the sea of raven coloured hair that lay on his chest; and hiding behind them were a pair of lavender eyes and the gentlest smile he had ever seen. He smiled as the eyes got closer and closer to him, feeling small kisses being placed on his body along the way. He gently stroked the raven hair out of the way of the lavender eyes, revealing the rest of Hinata's beautiful complexion. She smiled as she placed her hand over his, edging up further to place her lips on his, leaving her sweet taste on his lips. He licked his lips, savouring her taste as she sat up, allowing the blanket to fall gracefully down her body, revealing that she was only wearing her bra and panties. She blushed as Naruto's eyes scanned her luscious curves, her flawless skin and finally her large breasts. Naruto slyly grinned, slowly sitting up until he was eye level with her.

"I want you Hinata" Naruto whispered seductively, closing his eyes as he leaned in for a kiss and reached his hand out for her breast. However, his eyes shot open as he felt the mattress rise and felt Hinata jump off of the bed. Naruto furrowed his brow as he watched Hinata rush for the bathroom, wondering what she was doing, but his eyes widened slightly as he heard retching noises coming from the bathroom.

"Hinata?" he called concernedly, jumping off of the bed and rushing to her side. He found Hinata leaning over the sink, retching over it. As soon as he got to her side, he pulled her hair out of the way, rubbed her back and turned on the tap, reassuring her as she retched more. After about fifteen minutes of dry heaving, Hinata cupped her hand to hold some water and wiped her mouth with it before looking to Naruto with an apologetic expression.

"I-I'm so sorry Naruto-"Hinata started, frowning at Naruto with teary eyes.

"Don't be Hinata, it's not your fault you're ill" Naruto smiled, grabbing a towel and wiping the corners of her mouth. Hinata remained silent until Naruto finished cleaning her face, but blushed when Naruto let go of her hair, looking at the mess in his hand with a grossed out expression, but then he smiled as he ran his hand under the water, cleaning it up. When he finished drying his hands, he turned around and frowned when he saw Hinata looking at the floor guiltily, barely making a sound. He started to say something to her but stopped when a tear escaped from her cheek and echoed in the silence as it hit the floor.

"I'm sorry Naruto" She whimpered, tears running more freely now "I look disgusting, so you're going to break up with me and find a prettier girl, like Sa-" Hinata stopped as a T Shirt landed in front of her, and looked up to see Naruto now taking off his boxers. Before she could ask him what he was doing, he discarded his boxers and walked confidently up to her even though he was naked, smiling warmly as he wrapped his arms around her.

"I don't think you look pretty" Naruto whispered hoarsely into her ear, fighting back the lump in his throat. She froze for a moment before she slowly raised her head to look into his gentle, teary eyes with her wide, lavender ones. Tears streamed down her face, unable to say or do anything but cry. However, Naruto carried on.

"I think you look beautiful" Naruto smiled as he let tears escape down his face. His words pierced her heart, and once again she found she couldn't say anything as a thousand thoughts ran through her mind of things she wanted to say or do to him right now.

"And I'll never leave you; if I did my heart would wither and die. I love you too much to let you go" he emphasized, leaning his forehead on hers as he embraced her, closing his eyes as their lips connected as she wrapped her arms around him. They kissed passionately, the salt from their tears giving their kiss a bittersweet taste. Naruto licked her lips for permission for his tongue to enter her mouth, but frowned when she withdrew from the kiss, blushing deeply.

"I think I should brush my teeth..." Hinata mumbled, breaking the embrace and walking over to the sink. Naruto scratched the back of his head and laughed sheepishly. As Hinata started to finish up, she began to run her hand through her hair but stopped as she saw bits of her sick still in her hair. She frowned, and then started to turn to ask Naruto to give her some privacy to use the shower, but stopped as Naruto hugged her from behind, quickly undoing her bra as he smiled at her in the mirror. She gasped and blushed, holding her bra in place with her hand, about to protest but stopped as Naruto whispered in her ear.

"I think we both need a shower" He whispered seductively, rubbing his groin and hard member against her ass. Her eyes narrowed and her breathing became heavier as she felt Naruto's hands travel across her body, stroking her curves as he panted into her ear, his warm breath wrapping around it. His hands slowly went lower until they came to the elastic of her panties, at which point Hinata turned and pushed him back. Naruto had a half surprised, half turned on expression as he looked at Hinata; mainly at her breasts. She blushed slightly as her eyes scanned over Naruto's naked form; mainly his defined muscles and rock hard member. Naruto took a step forward, desperate for her body, but stopped when he saw Hinata's hands reach for her panties and slowly take them off. He almost fainted as he watched Hinata bend over to remove her panties; just watching her undress could make him cum. He furrowed his brow when Hinata threw her panties to the side, lowering herself to her knees. Naruto started to follow suite, but stopped as Hinata placed her hand on his leg, looking up at him briefly to shake her head and return her gaze to his member. His eyes widened slightly when he realised what she planned to do; he gulped nervously but kept his gaze on her. She slowly wrapped her hand around his member, slowly and nervously stroking it as she planned what to do next. She had heard about the girls talking about this kind of thing before; the rumours were that it was supposed to taste bad and feel horrible, but it made the guy feel really good, so Hinata was willing to endure it if it pleased Naruto. She came back out of her thoughts when she realised that Naruto had started to thrust into her hand slowly, and she looked up at him to see him looking back at her with narrow eyes, drowning in pleasure. As he noticed her nervous expression, he smiled at her reassuringly.

"You don't have to do it if you don't want to Hinata, I under-" Naruto started, but stopped abruptly as Hinata licked the tip of his member, sending little signals of pleasure through his brain. The pleasure increased as her licking became stronger and faster, almost sending him over the edge. He let out a moan, about to let Hinata know he was close, but froze as his brain stopped functioning, a huge wave of pleasure sending him crashing over the edge, making him release as he cried out. As his breathing started to slow down and his senses returned to him slowly, he looked down to see Hinata with her eyes shut tight and Naruto's member engulfed in her mouth. His eyes widened slightly and he started to ask her if she was okay, but stopped when Hinata pulled his member out of his mouth and looked up at Naruto, swallowing the contents of her mouth. She smiled, content that Naruto enjoyed it and that the experience wasn't that bad; contrary to the rumours. She slowly stood up, licking her lips and grabbing Naruto's hand, leading him to the shower.

Water poured over their naked forms as Naruto poured shampoo on Hinata's hair and rubbed it in whilst Hinata cleaned his body, running her hand over his defined muscles. When Naruto had finished lathering her hair, she kissed Naruto and turned around to rinse her hair, bending over slightly to thoroughly rinse it. Naruto grinned at her sight, his member becoming hard again, so when she had finished he hugged her from behind, rubbing his member against her back as his hand reached down between her legs, his fingers caressing her clit, making her groan with pleasure and grind against his hand. She grabbed his hair with her hand as he kissed her exposed neck, reaching down for his member with her other one, bending forward slightly and guiding it to her entrance. Naruto stopped kissing her neck and looked into her eyes, getting turned on even more by the lust in her eyes. He began kissing her lips passionately as he placed his hands on her hips, slowly entering her with his member, engulfing them both in pleasure. They both groaned into their kiss as Naruto went deeper, Hinata biting his lower lip as he began to thrust. As the rhythmic thrusting went on, the pair wrestled with their tongues, full of passion, lost in the moment where they were one. Naruto started breathing heavier, showing that his climax was near, so Hinata rubbed her clit, bringing her climax closer as well. Soon enough, the pleasure became unbearable, and they both cried each other's names as they were sent over the edge. Naruto filled her with his juices as Hinata's ran down his member and onto the shower floor, getting washed away by the flow of the water. Both of them panted heavily, looking into each other's eyes for a moment before Naruto withdrew from Hinata and turned her around, embracing her and placing his forehead against hers, eyes closed.

"I love you" Naruto whispered, placing a kiss on her lips.

"I love you too" Hinata smiled, placing a longer kiss on his. The pair smiled, enjoying each other's company until they cleaned themselves and left the shower. Whilst they were getting changed, Hinata no longer felt embarrassed about being naked in front of Naruto; it felt more normal now. She smiled to herself as she finished getting dressed, walking over to Naruto who was already dressed and waiting, held his hand and walked to the door. Naruto started to open the door, but stopped as his eyes widened slightly. Hinata started to say something, but Naruto smiled and turned to her.

"Don't worry nothing's wrong, that was just a shadow clone" He smiled "Hey, how about we go to my house and look at my parent's stuff? It'll give us something to do until Sasuke and everyone else get back" Hinata could tell that he was still worried about everyone, and that he just wanted something to occupy him, so she smiled and nodded.

"Well then let's go!" Naruto exclaimed. Hinata was about to say something, but stopped when yellow light filled her vision and was replaced with Naruto's apartment. She furrowed her brow and looked at Naruto who was grinning at her.

"What..? Where...? But how?" Hinata mumbled, walking over to the couch, touching it to see if it was real.

"Well you know the kunai my dad left me?" Naruto asked. Hinata nodded, thinking back to the reading of the will.

"Well, I had some shadow clones take the chest here right? Well I told them that once they got here they were to learn how to use them, which they did. When a clone dispelled itself earlier and came back to me, I gained all the knowledge that they had learned during trying to use this!" Naruto explained, taking a weird shaped kunai out of the wall and spinning it on one finger. Hinata's eyes widened slightly surprised that Naruto had come up with such a good idea. She smiled and walked up to him, kissing him on the cheek.

"Well done, I'm proud of you" She smiled. Naruto smiled, held her hand in his and led her to the chest, which contained the things he had inherited. Hinata gasped as she saw that half of the large chest was full of notes; it must have been the money Jiraiya left him. There were also picture books and a small box with several of the weirdly shaped kunai in it. Naruto was about to lean down and pick up a book, but stopped as his eyes widened slightly, making Hinata worry again. However, he looked up at her and smiled again.

"Just another shadow clone, don't worry. I sent two to leave a kunai near where the others are and keep an eye on them; looks like they've started fighting.." Naruto mumbled, looking distantly at her. He was brought out of his stupor when he felt Hinata's hand on his cheek, and he looked at her to see her smiling warmly at him.

"They'll be fine, trust them" Hinata reassured him, relaxing him greatly. He smiled in appreciation and picked up the book he had been reaching for, walking to the couch. Hinata started to follow him, but froze as she felt a breath on her neck.

"N-N-Naruto!" Hinata exclaimed, making him turn around quickly. His eyes widened as he saw Hinata struggling, unable to move due to being held captive.

"It's you!" Naruto gasped, taking a kunai out of his pouch.

Shikamaru whispered to his team mates, still keeping an eye on the grinning Kabuto. He waited patiently, thinking to himself as the three whispered to each other, obviously discussing battle tactics.

"_No matter, I'll crush them whatever they try! That said, I shouldn't underestimate them..."_ Kabuto thought, looking at Shikamaru wearily. When the three had stopped whispering, they nodded to each other and looked at Kabuto, readying themselves to attack. Kabuto's grin widened, his curiosity piqued at what they will try next. Chouji charged forward, increasing the size of his fist to attack him again. Kabuto grinned, readying himself for Chouji's attack. He looked behind Chouji briefly to see Shikamaru doing hand signs for his shadow jutsu.

"_Ah I see what he's trying to do. He's going to use the fat one's shadow to extend his own and capture me" _Kabuto analysed, laughing quietly to himself "_Well if they think I'll play defensive, how about I try offensive?"_ Kabuto immediately started weaving hand signs, making Chouji's eyes widen; he hadn't expected him to attack.

"Many hidden shadow snake hands!" Kabuto cried, raising his arms forward and shooting out hundreds of snakes from his sleeves. Chouji stopped and flinched, holding his arms up to protect his face, but the hundreds of snakes that landed on Chouji, bit him wherever they landed. Only able to concentrate on the hundreds of snakes sinking their teeth into him and the pain it was causing him, Chouji waved his arms violently, grabbing as many snakes as he could and tearing them off; unaware that tearing them out the way he was only worsened his wounds and caused him to lose more blood.

"Chouji! Calm down and hang on! Shadow sewing technique!" Cried Shikamaru, stretching out his shadow and making it split into hundreds of thinner ones, and then used them to pry the snakes off of Chouji carefully. When he was almost finished getting the snakes off of a now still Chouji, he felt a severe piercing pain in his right foot, making him cry out in pain and fall over, breaking his jutsu. As soon as he looked down and saw the snake that had buried its teeth in his Achilles tendon, he pulled out a kunai and cut it in half, and then pried it off of him. After removing the snake, he stood up to get back to helping Chouji, but fell down as he put weight on his right leg. His expression contorted in pain, but he furrowed his brow when is foot became numb and tried to move it, but it wouldn't respond at all. He began to puzzle over why it might have done this, but he realised what had happened when he saw where the snake had bit him; yellow puss started to seep out of the wound.

"_It must be venom that paralyses!" _Shikamaru summarised, cursing under his breath, but then froze when he remembered that Chouji had been bitten by hundreds of those snakes. He looked up at Chouji and called out to him, but he didn't get a response.

"Chouji!" Shikamaru called, being careful not to place weight on his right foot whilst getting up, hopping over to Chouji on his left foot. When he reached the statue that was Chouji, he checked his pulse and sighed with relief when he found one. He looked Chouji in his frantic and scared eyes, about to reassure him but stopped when he heard Kabuto's manic laughter.

"Hahahaha! He's as good as dead! The venom is only meant to paralyse, but being bitten that much means he'll be a stiff in no time!" Kabuto taunted. **(AN: Punny!) **

"Dynamic entry!" Someone cried as their foot connected with Kabuto's face, cutting his laughter short and sending him flying into a cliff. Lee was now stood where Kabuto was, grinning and holding a heroic pose.

"The power of youth is here to save you!" Lee exclaimed, giving Shikamaru a thumbs up. Shikamaru began to sigh, but stopped halfway through, smiling instead; he was more relieved than bothered.

"Thanks Lee! Does that mean-" Shikamaru started, but stopped when he felt the feeling in his right foot return. He looked down to see Sakura healing his tendon with her green aura of chakra, finishing right after Shikamaru even noticed.

"Sakura?" He started; amazed at the speed of her healing abilities, but as soon as she was finished she turned to check on Chouji. Understanding that she was in a rush, he turned his attention back to Kabuto, who was trying to pull himself out of the cliff he was embedded in. He wore an angry expression and looked at Lee with total disdain, wiping blood from his mouth after he reset his jaw.

"Bastard! I'll get you for this!" Kabuto threatened, as he fixed his dislocated arm and started to weave hand signs, but stopped as he heard someone shout next to him.

"Mind transfer technique!" Ino called out, sending her mind forward before Kabuto had any time to react.

"_Shit! I can't dodge it!" _Kabuto thought, watching as Ino's body went limp and collapsed onto the floor.

"DAMN Y-"Kabuto started to shout, but stopped as Ino took him over. He looked over to Shikamaru and smiled, giving him a thumbs up to show that Ino had taken over his mind. Shikamaru smiled back, relieved that they had finally beaten him, but his eyes widened as Kabuto grabbed hold of his head with both hands and screamed.

"Ino!"Lee called, making his way toward Kabuto, but stopped when Kabuto faced him, giving him a huge grin.

"You won't get me that easily" he chuckled, turning to Ino's body which started moving; Ino was back in her own body. She looked at him wide eyed, as if unable to believe what had just happened to her. However, her expression became full of fear as Kabuto stretched out his arm, revealing a snake from his sleeve which opened its mouth as a blade came out of it.

"One down" Kabuto muttered, shooting the snake toward her. Everything went into slow motion for Ino, but she couldn't move; she could only stare at the blade as it lunged at her. She glanced past Kabuto and saw Shikamaru and Lee running toward her wearing shocked expressions, as if they were yelling something, but she couldn't hear them. Then she saw Sakura healing Chouji, who was also looking at her, but with a pale and shocked expression. Finally, she looked up at Chouji; his eyes were wide open, his jaw was slack, and a tear escaped from his eye. She mentally smiled when she looked at Chouji, and silently thanked him for being there for her. Then she looked back at the blade that slowly lunged at her, beginning to pick up speed.

"_Thank you everyone" _Ino smiled, watching the blade travel toward her. However, her eyes widened when a kunai hit the snake, deterring it to make it cut her shoulder, narrowly missing her. Her mind was a mess as she tried to comprehend the situation, but she closed her eyes instinctively when a yellow flash almost blinded her.

"Rasengan!" She heard someone shout before she had a chance to open her eyes and see who it was. She looked up to see Naruto standing in front of her, ramming his signature technique into Kabuto's chest, making him cough blood before flying backward. Ino's jaw slackened as Naruto turned to face her and grinned, giving her a thumbs up.

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**17k+ hits, 50 faves and 75 reviews? I didn't expect this to get that popular in all honesty, so I'm happy that it has and that so many people enjoy it! **


	12. Rescue Part 3

**Hey guys, sorry for the late update, but for some reason FF wouldn't let me upload anything... Anyways, enjoy this chapter; sorry if it seems I rushed things, just wanted the fighting to be over and done with... It is a NaruHina fic after all!**

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Ino's jaw slacked and her eyes widened as she looked at her saviour; Naruto. Speechless, she startled to mumble, but stopped as she was tightly embraced by Chouji. He buried her face into his chest which was shaking violently. She pried herself from his grip so she could look up at his sobbing face, biting his bottom lip as if to hold even more tears in.

"Ino... I-I-"Chouji sobbed, but stopped as Ino leapt up and pressed her lips against his, the salty taste of his tears mixing in with their passionate kiss. When she withdrew from the kiss she pressed her forehead against his and smiled whilst looking into his eyes.

"I know you couldn't save me Chouji... You were too busy pretending to be a statue" She giggled, making her teammate lighten up and chuckle as well. The two were pulled out of their tender moment when they heard spluttering coming from behind them, and turned to see Naruto pointing at them with his jaw slack. They both frowned at him, unable to think of why Naruto was acting as if he saw a ghost.

"I-I-Ino and Chouji? WHAT THE HELL?" Naruto shouted, pretending to be sick and that his eyes were burning. Chouji's expression flattened whilst Ino's face became red with anger and a vein in her head bulged out. She jumped up and grabbed Naruto by the scruff, pressing her face against his.

"Got a problem with that?" she asked through her gritted teeth, the intent to kill clear in her eyes.

"N-No! Not at all... eheheheh" Naruto chuckled nervously, waving his arms in front of him defensively. Ino let him go and smiled, her angry expression instantly fading into an innocent, happy one.

"Good!" Ino smiled.

"_What a scary girl..." _Naruto thought, scratching the back of his head whilst chuckling nervously. As Ino turned, she noticed the rest of her team members all had the same expression; jaw slack with wide eyes, with the exception of Shikamaru, who looked like he could care less as he picked his nose. Ino began to wonder why everyone was acting so weird, but then it clicked; only Shikamaru knew about her and Chouji!

"_Ah crap!"_ Ino thought as she scratched her nose and laughed sheepishly, a bead of sweat running down the side of her face. As Ino started to explain the situation, she was interrupted by manic, laboured laughter.

"Hahaha! The Hokage too? Excellent! I can finally use the ace up my sleeve!" Kabuto shouted as he struggled to pick himself up, catching everyone's attention. He made a few hand signs, covering his hands with a green aura which he covered the gaping wound in his chest with to heal it.

"Like I'll let you!" Naruto shouted, getting his kunai ready, but stopped when Kabuto coughed blood onto his hand, falling onto his knees as he entered a coughing fit, the green aura dissipating.

"_Looks like that Rasengan did a number on him, he doesn't have long left" _Naruto thought as he watched the reptile cling onto life. He looked at his team mates who watched Kabuto with pitiful expressions, as if they knew too that Kabuto was about to die. Naruto started to walk over to him, pulling a kunai out of his pouch and spinning it on his finger. When he reached Kabuto, he had managed to stand up on his shaky legs, blood trickling down his scaly chin.

"Y-You think you've... Beaten me?" Kabuto wheezed, smiling as Naruto got even closer to him "Don't underestimate me b-boy, I still have one trick up my sleeve!" He slowly started to weave hand signs, his breathing growing more laboured with each hand sign, his eyes unable to focus properly. He fell to his knees when Naruto reached him, coughing out more blood. There was now a puddle of blood that flowed around Naruto's sandals as he towered above the feeble reptile; he almost felt pity for him, no one should have to die with this much agony.

"Any last words?" Naruto stated, raising the kunai above his head. Kabuto managed to look up and grinned.

"Just... Two" Kabuto mumbled, weaving his last hand sign. Naruto's eyes widened and he began to bring the kunai down as Kabuto began to lower his hands, but just as his hands were about to touch the floor, they stopped, merely an inch above the ground.

"Edo Ten-"he started, but stopped, eyes wide as his lost control over his now frozen arms. He looked up involuntarily to see Shikamaru standing beside Naruto, looking back at him with a stoic expression and his hands woven into a sign.

"Nice try" Shikamaru grunted as he looked at Kabuto's crunched up expression of pain and anger.

"D-D-Damn you!" Kabuto wheezed, blood running from his mouth as he spoke. Shikamaru grunted as his shadows made their way to his neck, his eyes dimming as the life left their yellow, reptilian slits. He released his jutsu, letting Kabuto's limp body fall on the floor, making a sick thump as it hit the floor. Naruto placed a hand on his shoulder and looked at him with a reassuring expression, about to say something before his eyes widened and he threw his kunai and teleported them to it in a yellow flash. Shikamaru blinked, confused about what just happened before Naruto pointed to where they were. In their place stood a heavily breathing Sasuke, clad in his Susano'o. Shikamaru stared blankly at the Susano'o, unable to comprehend what it was before Naruto tightened the grip on his shoulder.

"Don't worry Shikamaru; it's a sharingan ability. Look, Itachi has it too" Naruto pointed out, pointing at Itachi who stood next to the rest of the team clad in his own Susano'o.

"_But we killed Kabuto..." _Naruto began to think, looking at Kabuto's corpse, but looked back up when his attention was diverted back to Sasuke's and Itachi's battle after hearing a pain filled cry.

Sasuke's eyes widened as he watched Itachi clutch his head in his hands, screaming in agony as if something was burning in his head. He took the opportunity to glance at Sakura, who was already running over to him. He smiled as he dismissed his Susano'o and caught Sakura in his arms, who buried her face into his chest. She started to sob whilst she healed a wound on his arm with her green healing chakra, relieved that he was still in one piece, and on top of that holding her in his arms. She looked up at his crimson eyes with her watery, emerald ones, blinking as Sasuke wiped a tear from her cheek.

"You're injured..." Sakura sniffed, diverting her attention back to his wound. Her eyes widened as Sasuke tilted her face back up to meet his, pressing his lips against hers. Resisting the urge to leave his wound and place her arms around his neck, Sakura pushed deeper into the kiss, savouring Sasuke's unique taste. He withdrew from the kiss and looked into her eyes, wearing an expression of guilt.

"I'm sorry Sakura" he murmured, diverting his gaze "For everything... I just didn't realise how much you meant to me. You're the main reason I came back to the village, I'd have come back sooner if I wasn't such an arrogant fool!" He took a step back and looked at the floor, his hands rolled into fists that shook with anger. Sakura closed her eyes as she thought about his apology, and then looked up at Sasuke with a smile.

"I'm just glad you're ba-"

"Sasuke" Itachi interrupted, walking past Sakura, not even acknowledging her existence. Sasuke looked up at his brother with wide eyes and took a defensive stance, which slackened as Itachi stopped and closed his eyes.

"I've regained control over my body" Itachi stated. Sasuke began to smile and take a step forward, but stopped when Itachi opened his eyes.

"But I still need you to kill me" Itachi added, a hint of regret in his usual stoic expression. Sasuke's heart stopped as Itachi's word echoed in his mind, tears escaped his wide, crimson eyes.

"W-What... Why? Don't joke around Ita-"

"I'm not joking Sasuke. I'm supposed to be dead. My existence right now isn't right, you need to return me to where I belong." Itachi explained, eyes narrowing as he gauged Sasuke's reaction.

"NO! I WON'T K-"Sasuke shouted, but stopped as Itachi took out a kunai and placed it on Sakura's next, drawing a bit of blood. Sakura's eyes widened.

"_When did he take out that kunai? His speed his unbelievable!"_Sakura thought; hear heart feeling like it was trying to break out of her chest.

"If you don't kill me I'll kill Sakura" Itachi threatened, his tone becoming angrier. Sasuke flinched at his words, unable to speak as his breathing became rapid.

"_I can't kill him again! Not when I just got him back!"_ Sasuke screamed in his mind. He switched his gaze to Sakura, who looked at him with wide eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks, mouthing 'Sasuke'. All of a sudden, time seemed to stop for him. As he looked into her emerald eyes, the memory of her smooth lips and cheery taste came back to him, warming him inside. He closed his eyes and smiled as he savoured the memory, never wanting it to end. As Sasuke closed his eyes, Itachi dropped his kunai and smiled at Sakura, mouthing 'Sorry'. Sakura furrowed her brow as Itachi turned his gaze back at Sasuke, smiling contently.

"I'm a selfish brother aren't I? Sorry Sasuke" Itachi chuckled, closing his eyes.

"You were a great brother. Thanks... Itachi" Sasuke mumbled as a tear of blood run down his cheek.

"Amaterasu!" Sasuke exclaimed, opening his eyes which sent black flames at the smiling Itachi, devouring him. Once the black flames cremated Itachi and disappeared, Sasuke clutched his eye and fell to his knees.

"Sasuke!" Sakura screamed, running over to Sasuke's side to embrace him. To her surprise, instead of being pushed away like she would have been before, Sasuke hugged her tightly back, sobbing into her shoulder.

"_You're finally back Sasuke" _Sakura thought to herself as she stroked Sasuke's hair to comfort him.

Naruto smiled as he watched the two embrace, placing his hands behind his head. Ino, Chouji, Lee and Shikamaru gathered around Naruto and smiled as they watched Sakura and Sasuke embrace.

"So it looks like Sasuke beat you and won Sakura eh Naruto?" Ino teased him, nudging Naruto with her elbow. Naruto gritted his teeth and clenched his fist.

"Don't you mean it looks like Sakura won Sasuke? You gave up and settled for Chouji!" Naruto replied, sticking his tongue out at her. Her expression became red again as she hit Naruto on the head with all of her strength before ranting at him.

"_Settled_ for Chouji? Actually I love him more than that moron Sasuke! So don't you ever-"

"Hey, hey, calm down!" Yamato interrupted, shifting an unconscious Kakashi on his back.

"What's all the fuss about?" Neiji added, hopping off of Akamaru with Kiba. Ino calmed down and blinked at everyone's arrival, wearing a puzzled expression.

"Weren't you fighting Madara?" Ino asked. Naruto rubbed his head and looked at Kakashi with wide eyes.

"Is... he?" Naruto muttered, trying to fight back tears. Yamato smiled and shook his head.

"He's fine, just exhausted from overusing his sharingan." He answered, smiling as Naruto's mood picked back up, his frown turning into a huge grin.

"So you beat him then?" Naruto smiled, cheering when Yamato nodded in reply

"Wow! I'm impressed Yamato! You'll have to tell me about it when you treat me to a bowl of ramen!" Naruto grinned, giving him a thumbs up.

"Naruto..." Yamato sighed and rolled his eyes, making everyone laugh. Sasuke and Sakura joined the crowd, holding hands and smiling. It warmed Naruto to see the pair so happy and finally together; it also relieved him that he fulfilled his promise to Sakura. The pair blushed as the rest of the gang laughed at Kiba's wolf whistling at the pair, reminding Naruto about Hinata.

"Ah crap!" Naruto exclaimed, surprising everyone.

"What's wrong Naruto?" Lee asked, concerned about Naruto's sudden outburst. Naruto started to jog on the spot and scratched the bag of his head as he laughed sheepishly.

"I've got to get back to Hinata!" Naruto shouted "Sorry guys, but I've got to go on ahead!" Ino tutted and rolled her eyes whilst she crossed her arms.

"Naruto I'm sure she'll be fine on her own for five minutes" Ino commented sarcastically, leaning her head on Chouji's arm.

"Well... Uhh... It's not Hinata I'm worried about... Well it is! But not just her!" Naruto replied nervously, starting to walk backwards. Everyone furrowed their brows, confused at Naruto's answer. He spun around on the spot and started to walk away, but then stopped, turning to face everyone again.

"She may be pregnant..." Naruto chuckled sheepishly before disappearing in a yellow flash.

"WWWHHHAAAAAATTTTT?" Everyone shouted in unison, except for Kakashi who landed on the floor after being dropped by Yamato's reaction.

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**If only Kakashi was conscious in the last scene, I could imagine him shouting "NAAAAANNIIIII?" Like he did in the Jap dub when Naruto gave him a new Icha Ichia paradise book xD **


	13. News

**I could've sworn I already uploaded this chapter! Review me if I have, or if I've now posted this up twice, but when I went on this story only 12 chapters came up! Confused... Anyway, here's chapter 13. I'm aiming to end this in the next chapter, then maybe do a chapter after that, but who knows, we'll have to see. Anyway, enjoy!**

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With a bright yellow flash, Naruto rolled onto the floor and crashed into the wall of his apartment head first. Cursing under his breath while rubbing the spot where he hit his head, he looked up at the wall to see one of the special kunai implanted into it higher up, so it could act like a receiver for his teleportation jutsu.

"_I'll have to move that somewhere more comfortable..."_ Naruto thought as he got up and eyed the kunai. After mumbling under his breath and deciding to leave the kunai where it was for now, he turned around and looked at the rest of his apartment, remembering how he and Hinata found out about her being pregnant.

_**-Flashback-**_

_**Zetsu grinned as he restrained Hinata, toying with the kunai that he held against her neck. Naruto began to instinctively reach for a kunai in his pouch, but froze when Zetsu pressed the kunai against the flawless skin on her neck, drawing a bit of blood. A bead of sweat dripped down the side of his face, his eyes wide as hundreds of scenarios ran through his mind, his only concern being Hinata's safety. **_

"_**Let go of Hinata!" Naruto exclaimed, trying to hold himself back from attacking the black and white half man half plant. Zetsu grinned at his reaction and slowly eased the kunai from her neck, but kept it within striking distance.**_

"_**The name's Zetsu, and don't worry; I'm not the kind of villain that kills kids" Zetsu assured, his grin stretching at Naruto's irritated expression.**_

"_**We're not kids! Don't underestimate us damn it! And let Hinata go already!" Naruto shouted, his temper getting the best of him. **_

"_**N-Naruto..." Hinata whimpered, a tear running down her cheek, making Naruto even more desperate and angry. Naruto was about to start again, but was stopped by Zetsu's laughter.**_

"_**I know you're not kids... You're not who I was on about" Zetsu explained in a voice deeper than hisusual whiny one, pointing at her stomach with his black hand **_

"_**I was talking about the kid inside your woman" Naruto's brow furrowed, unable to understand what Zetsu was trying to get at, but then it clicked when he saw Hinata's terrified expression. She was pregnant. Naruto's jaw became slack as he tried to process the news, but he regained his composure when Zetsu released Hinata and she ran into his arms, crying into his chest. He embraced her, relieved that she and his unborn child were safe and unharmed. However, their emotional reunion was cut short when Zetsu cleared his throat, reminding the pair of his presence. Naruto immediately pushed Hinata behind him, intent on protecting her with his life as he pulled out a kunai and took a defensive stance. **_

"_**Don't worry, I'm not here to fight, just to deliver a message" Zetsu informed him, but his stance remained strong and he showed no signs of letting his guard down. Zetsu sighed and began to sink into the floor, never taking his eyes off of Naruto.**_

"_**Madara wishes for an audience with the Hokage" Zetsu stated, grinning as Naruto's narrowed eyes watched him sink into the floor. As soon as Zetsu fully disappeared into the floor, Naruto dropped his kunai and span around, embracing Hinata tightly. Hinata embraced him back and sobbed into his chest, relief flooding over the pair. After a few minutes Naruto withdrew from the embrace, holding her at the shoulders. Hinata looked up at him with her eyes that were raw from crying and furrowed her brow as she saw Naruto smiling at her, tears streaming down his cheeks.**_

"_**I'm gonna be a dad!" Naruto exclaimed, his grin wider than ever. Hinata smiled and looked down at her stomach, grabbing Naruto's hand and moving it to her stomach. Naruto closed his eyes as he pictured the baby, Hinata doing the same. However, their quiet moment was cut short when Hinata stepped back and bent over and started to moan under her breath. Naruto's eyes widened as he feared the worst and he reached out his hand to her, crying out her name in panic. Just as he started to reach his hand out, Hinata ran past him, still bent over but with her hand covering her mouth, heading toward the toilet. Naruto's expression went blank as she ran into the bathroom, but as he heard noises of barfing he sighed with relief and headed to the bathroom to help her out.**_

_**-End Flashback-**_

Naruto was suddenly dragged out of his thoughts when he remembered why he had come back; Hinata went to the hospital to get a pregnancy check up. Hitting his palm against his face, he took a special kunai out of his pouch and threw it out of the window and teleported to it.

"_Man this technique comes in handy! Thanks Dad!" _Naruto thought as he flashed from rooftop to rooftop, reaching the hospital in a fraction of the time it would have taken if he ran. Smiling at the kunai before he put it back in his pouch, he ran into the front desk, surprising the receptionist.

"L-Lord Hokage! Has the head nurse been found yet?" The nurse asked after recovering from her shock.

"Yeah she has, but I don't have time for that, can you tell me where Hinata Hyuuga is?" Naruto asked in a rushed tone. Since she was used to being rushed, the nurse hurriedly checked her file and found Hinata.

"She's in room 241; that's on the second floor-" The nurse began, but she stopped as Naruto nodded and ran off to the stairs.

"W-Wait! She has a visitor already!" The nurse shouted, but her voice faded in the distance as Naruto ran up the stairs. The nurse sighed and looked at the visitor who has signed into to see her.

"_He can't say I didn't warn him..."_The nurse thought as she closed the file and resumed her work. Naruto practically jumped up the stairs and sprant down the hall, skidding to a stop outside of Hinata's room. He peeped through the glass to see Hinata standing next to a bed in her normal clothing, looking down at the floor and twiddling her thumbs, wearing a sullen expression. Naruto's brow furrowed as his heart started to race; what if she wasn't pregnant? They could try again? Right? Had they even planned for a kid? Naruto paled as the reality of the situation hit home; how were they going to look after a child? They weren't even married! Naruto's eyes widened as he backed away from the door, hundreds of doubts running through his mind.

"_I won't be a good father; I don't even know how to be one. We didn't plan for this kid either, but I can't just leave Hinata alone!" _Naruto thought as he returned to his senses, standing straight and looking through the little window in the door at Hinata.

"_I love her! I'll stay by her side no matter what! Believe it!"_ Naruto spurred himself as he opened the door, smiling as Hinata turned to look at him, her eyes wide with shock.

"N-Naruto!" She exclaimed, starting to run over to hug him, but stopped and looked in front of her. Naruto furrowed his brow and followed her line of vision, freezing as he saw the figure Hinata was looking at.

"H-Hiashi!" Naruto exclaimed, taking a step back, gulping nervously. Hiashi crossed his arms and gave Naruto a look that could kill.

"Naruto. Care to explain why my daughter is pregnant? Or better yet, why she is pregnant and wears no wedding ring?" Hiashi asked in a more irritated tone than his usual stoic one. Naruto waved his arms defensively as he stuttered, unable to speak. A vain popped up in Hiashi's forehead as he grew visibly more irritated, pinching his nose with his finger and thumb.

"You'd better h-" Hiashi started

"Enough" Hinata interrupted, surprising the both of them. Naruto stopped stuttering and looked at her with wide eyes.

"_Hinata..." _Naruto thought as he looked at her, seeing the same determination on her as she had in the Pain battle. Hiashi's eyes widened slightly; this was a first, his daughter never spoke up to him!

"It's true that I'm pregnant with Naruto's child, but the reason we aren't engaged is because this child wasn't really planned..." Hinata explained, looking down and placing her hand on her stomach.

"Actually, the reason we aren't engaged yet is because I haven't found the right opportunity to propose" Naruto frowned, making Hinata look up at him in surprise.

"But I guess now is as good a time as ever" Naruto smiled, pulling out a small box from the inside pocket of his sage coat, which he decided would be his Hokage coat. Hinata's and Hiashi's eyes widened as Naruto walked over to her and kneeled down, opening the box in front of her to reveal a silver ring with a big amethyst rock in the middle, with four smaller diamond rocks on either side.

"Hyuuga Hinata, will you marry me?" Naruto asked, offering the ring to her. Tears fell down her cheeks as she smiled and looked at the ring. Taking the ring, she placed it on her finger and nodded.

"Of course I will!" She answered, leaping at Naruto as soon as he stood up, hugging him tightly. Naruto hugged her back and spun her around, laughing happily. When he put her down, the two kissed deeply, but stopped and blushed as Hiashi cleared his throat. They let each other go but stayed at each other's sides as Hiashi walked over to Hinata, picking up her hand to look at the ring. After a few minutes of inspecting it, he closed his eyes and let go of her hand.

"I guess it is good enough" Hiashi mumbled, his eyes widening as Naruto grinned and hugged him.

"What the? Get o-"Hiashi started to protest, but was interrupted when Hinata hugged him too. Hiashi furrowed his brow in anger, but gave up, keeping his hands at his sides until the teenagers let go of him, Hinata smiling warmly and Naruto wearing his usual grin.

"Now that that's over with" Hiashi started, clearing his throat and crossing his arms again.

"You need to plan this wedding. It should be before Hinata is due to give birth, and since I am the father of the bride, I will cover all of the costs." Naruto grinned, giving Hiashi a thumbs up.

"Thanks dad!" Naruto grinned, making Hiashi clench his teeth together.

"Don't call me that!" Hiashi warned him, making Naruto chuckle and rub his head sheepishly. Hinata giggled as she held onto Naruto, looking contently at her ring. As Hiashi watched the two, he slightly smiled.

"_They'll be fine"_ Hiashi thought to himself as he inclined his head and left the room, stopping at the door, turning to face Naruto.

"By the way, don't you have Hokage duties to tend to?" Hiashi asked, mentally wearing an evil smile as he left the room. Naruto's eyes widened before he frowned and looked at the floor, mumbling as he pictured a load of paperwork on the Hokage's desk. Hinata chuckled as she led Naruto out of the room.

"_Engaged and pregnant! I can't wait to tell everybody!" _She thought as she felt her stomach with her free hand, holding Naruto's with her other as they both walked to the Hokage's office.

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**It feels weird, I never thought that ending a fic would feel as important as it does, but I never really planned for this to be big or whatever, but it turned out bigger than expected! Thanks to all those that read this fic! It's all because of you guys Confessions is actually here!**

**P.S. I've been thinking that when this fic is finished, I might do some B-Side chapters. Basically, chapters about other couples, how they got together etc. If you want me to do something like this, then say it in your review or message me! Thanks in advance guys!**

**P.S.S I've started a new fanfic. It's called The Arbitrator, and it's another NaruHina fic! However, it has a yaoi couple in it, so it will have some yaoi things. That said, it's only minor, so even if you don't like that stuff, I'm sure you can tolerate a little bit of yaoi! Anyways, enough said, go check it out, it's my first fic with an OC and a yaoi pairing, so I guess you can say it's like an experiment for me. I like it, and I'm sure you will too!**


	14. Workload

**This is the last but one chapter of Confessions! That's right, the next one is the last one! It's been real fun writing this fanfic, and thanks to those guys who have been reading and reviewing this since chapter one! Anyway, enjoy chapter 14!**

**Update - Fixed some spelling errors. I always though "Neji" was spelt "Neiji", must be because of the way I pronounce it. Oh, and I know "Hyuuga" is spelt "Hyuga", but I prefer my way of spelling it, as that's how it actually sounds :P**

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Naruto sighed as he placed his elbows on his desk and rubbed his temples, trying to ease the pain in his head which felt like it was trying to explode. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine that he was lost in a calm ocean, but it quickly turned into a raging whirlpool. He quickly changed the mental scenery to a luscious, windy field, but even that turned into a barren wasteland. Naruto screamed irritably and head butted his desk as hard as he could, which he instantly regretted. He jumped up and clenched his now swollen forehead with both his hands, dancing manically as he hummed, trying his best not to curse loudly. When the pain in his forehead finally subsided, he sat back down, continuing to rub his head. However, when he began to open his eyes, he remembered what had got him so irritated in the first place; paperwork. If someone asked Naruto to recollect the past seven months, he would reply with one word; paperwork. Being Hokage was _definitely_ not how Naruto thought it would be; it felt like a typical nine to five office job. Except for the three days every month where he had to meet with Gaara to discuss politics and agreements, and the odd meeting with the village elders to discuss what Naruto had planned for the month, but other than that he rarely had time off. Free time was a rare luxury for Naruto; there were some days where he would finish early and sneak to Ichiraku's for a bowl of ramen, but his time that wasn't devoted to work was devoted to Hinata. Since she was seven months pregnant, her hormones were everywhere, and she had these random cravings that often had a tired Naruto going to the convenience store at one in the morning. Naruto would often complain and mumble under his breath, but in all honesty he thought it was all worth it when Hinata gave him her warm smile and 'thank you' kiss, and if she was in the right mood and Naruto had played his cards right, they would even make love. At first, Naruto was a bit hesitant when making love. When Hinata made him explain what was wrong, he said

"What if I hurt the baby with my... y'know..." This made Hinata laugh for a good hour. Naruto chuckled slightly as he reminisced; now that it was so long back he could laugh at it, but whenever Hinata used to bring it up and go on a laughing fit again Naruto's expression would deadpan and he'd go for a bowl of ramen so Hinata could calm down.

"Naruto?" A voice called, snapping Naruto out of his reminiscing. He looked toward the door and saw Sasuke poking his head out of the door, his brow furrowed as he looked at him with a confused expression.

"Ah Sasuke! Come in!" Naruto greeted cheerfully, grinning widely as he motioned at the chair on the opposite side of his desk. Sasuke slid through the door and closed it behind him, sighing with relief as he sat on the chair and looked up at the ceiling. Naruto stifled a laugh; he knew instantly what was wrong with the beat Uchiha. Every now and then, Sasuke would come to his office at a random time, looking as though he had run several marathons. Since he was the only Uchiha and had inherited the clan, he had also inherited a _load_ of paperwork. Not only that, but Sakura was pregnant, and had begun having the same spontaneous cravings Hinata had. As Sasuke stared at the ceiling absently whilst breathing raggedly, Naruto remembered when Sakura and the rescue teams came back to Konoha.

_**-Flashback-**_

_**Naruto blew his tea gently, dissipating the rising fumes before taking a sip. Several hours ago, Naruto and Hinata burst out of the hospital, prepared to tell everyone about their news, but were disappointed when they remembered that everyone was either out on missions or part of the rescue team to save Sakura. Not wanting to go to his office and do paperwork all day, Naruto came up with the idea of waiting for everyone by the gate until they got back, but Hinata was wiser than Naruto had thought, and told him not to escape his responsibilities. After arguing for a while, Naruto gave in and accepted that he would wait for them after he had done his paperwork. So, after hours of endless paperwork and head butting the desk, Naruto was finally sat on the bench outside of the gate, drinking tea whilst also acting as a head rest for Hinata. Since it was night, the air had become a bit nippy, so the pair were huddled lovingly on the bench, gaining smiles from villagers, as well as inclinations of the head to their Hokage, to which Naruto would chuckle sheepishly and tell them to be less formal. Naruto looked into his now empty plastic cup before he threw it in the trash can next to him, looking up when something caught his eye. In the distance, someone in green was waving their arms energetically, earning him fed up looks from the rest of his companions. Naruto grinned before poking Hinata and pointed at the rescue team.**_

"_**They're back!" He exclaimed, jumping up and waving back at Lee. Hinata smiled as she stood up and walked to Naruto's side, wrapping her arm around his. When the rescue team finally reached him, Naruto started to say something in greeting, but stopped when Sakura and Sasuke kept on walking. **_

"_**H-Hey!" Naruto shouted, getting irritated when the two kept walking hand in hand. Naruto started to shout again, but stopped when he felt Hinata's hand squeeze his gently, frowning when Hinata shook her head at him. **_

"_**Pfft. I'll see them after then. So-" Naruto started, but stopped as he was bombarded with a flurry of excuses.**_

"_**Sorry Naruto, but I need to get Kakashi to the hospital" Yamato explained, walking past him.**_

"_**I haven't fed Akamaru either..." **_

"_**This is just too troublesome"**_

"_**I need to train more!"**_

"_**I'm hungry." **_

_**Were a few of the excuses Naruto managed to make out as everyone else walked past him, chatting idly to each other. Naruto mumbled in disbelief, his expression blank before he furrowed his brow and scrunched his nose.**_

"_**I'm the Hokage damn it!" Naruto shouted, almost fuming when no one turned to pay him attention.**_

"_**I know you are" Hinata smiled, kissing him on the cheek.**_

_**-End flashback-**_

"_I didn't see Sakura and Sasuke for a whole week after they came back- no one did. When I did see them they tell me Sakura's pregnant!" _Naruto thought, rolling his eyes before looking at Sasuke, who was staring at Naruto blankly.

"Welcome back" Sasuke stated sarcastically, making Naruto's expression dead pan.

"Well if you weren't so interested in my ceiling I wouldn't have to day dream!" Naruto retaliated, cheering mentally when Sasuke looked taken aback before collecting himself.

"Yes well... I've been preoccupied lately." Sasuke explained, looking out the window behind Naruto. Before his mind began to wonder, Naruto tutted and crossed his arms, looking at the Uchiha with an unsympathetic look.

"You think you have it bad? Look at all my paperwork! Plus I've got to go on meetings, and all my free time is taken up by Hinata's random urges!" Naruto listed, not paying any attention to the bulging vein in the Uchiha's forehead**. **

"It's not a walk in the park for me either idiot! I've got to rebuild my clan financially and population wise!" Sasuke argued, making Naruto feel a bit hesitant about his rant. The two silently stared at each other momentarily before pouting and looking to the side.

"You two really haven't changed" Neji smiled, making the two jump in surprise. They looked up at Neji and then at each other before chuckling heartily. Ever since he came back from the mission, Sasuke wasn't his typical, dark self, but was generally happy, and was even known to laugh from time to time. Neji smiled as he watched the pair laugh.

"_It's good to see that they're finally how they belong"_ he thought to himself, breaking himself out of his thoughts when the laughter died down and Sasuke stood up.

"I'd best be going" Sasuke announced, starting to leave the room, but stopped and turned when he reached the door.

"Oh, and you do know you can use shadow clones to do that paperwork for you don't you?" Sasuke asked, rolling his eyes when Naruto's jaw dropped, his eyes wide in realisation.

"I knew it. Five months and you haven't even figured that out. You really are an idiot" Sasuke sighed as he left the room, the sound of the door closing replaced by Naruto's head hitting the desk. Hard.

Naruto cursed silently as he slowly began to sit up, not even wanting to know the size of the lump that was now on his head. Since he couldn't feel any pain and the lump felt like a second heartbeat, he decided to try and distract himself from it. Neji cleared his throat, clearly trying to stifle back a laugh.

"Finished?" Neji asked, trying his hardest not to laugh when Naruto's expression deadpanned.

"What do you want Neji?" Naruto asked in an irritated tone, waiting for the Hyuuga to collect himself.

"Actually, I have quite a bit of news" Neji announced, catching Naruto's interest. Naruto smiled, telling Neji to carry on.

"Well first of all I wanted to ask you if Tenten could be excused from missions." Neji asked, continuing as Naruto furrowed his brow and opened his mouth to ask why.

"She's pregnant" Neji interrupted, smiling as a wide grin spread across Naruto's face.

"That's great! Of course she can!" Naruto exclaimed, shaking Neiji's hand. When Neji finally had his hand back, he returned it to his side and nodded politely.

"Thank you Naruto. There's also some other things I need to run by you. Shikamaru needs more time in Suna, and Hiashi wants to run over last minute wedding details when your work is done" Neji informed him, watching as Naruto sighed tiredly before furrowing his brow in confusion.

"I get the Hiashi thing, but couldn't Shikamaru have come and asked me himself?" Naruto asked, his confusion increasing when Neji bit his bottom lip.

"About that... He may already be on the way to Suna." Neji mumbled, feeling a tang of pity when Naruto hung his head. Since Naruto became Hokage, everyone had kind of been treating him like a push over. Well, not a push over per se, but they treated him as if he was still the Naruto they all knew, not the Hokage. Things like acting before getting permission was a regular occurrence, not that Naruto minded, he knew that they already knew he would agree, but he still would have appreciated if they treated him like a Hokage and asked him first. Naruto sighed and stood up, making Neji raise an eyebrow in surprise.

"Well I guess its okay. Now, I'd best be off to see Hiashi" Naruto announced, looking at Neiji to see if he had any other news. Neji nodded in acknowledgement at Naruto, but then frowned when the piles of paperwork on his desk caught his eye.

"Umm Naruto... What about your paperwork?" Neji asked curiously, eyes widening slightly as a grin stretched across Naruto's face.

"Shadow clones!" Naruto shouted, making a hand seal and creating several other shadow clones. Neji took a step back in surprise as the clones started to shuffle through the paperwork with impressive speed. The real Naruto grinned and pulled his Hokage coat off of the chair he was on, putting it on swiftly before motioning for Neji to follow him out of the room.

The pair walked to the Hyuuga compound as Naruto complained about how difficult the paperwork had been up to this point, making Neji roll his eyes and wonder how he hadn't come up with this sooner. When the pair reached the gate, Neji said a rushed good bye and jogged to the branch family section of the compound.

"_He probably wants to get back to Tenten" _Naruto smiled in understanding, which instantly turned into a frown when he remembered the reason he was there.

"He wants to go through the wedding plans _again_" Naruto moaned, dragging his palm down his face before walking to the main building.

Naruto absently nodded as Hiashi silently explained the wedding plans again, his voice replaced by Naruto's imagination.

"_God this is soooo boring! I can't believe there is so much fuss over a wedding!"_ Naruto complained mentally. He absently nodded again when Hiashi looked at him expectantly, continuing his explanation when he decided that Naruto actually _was_ paying attention. Naruto looked up from Hiashi at the clock behind him.

"_Two hours. He's been talking about God knows what for two hours, and what's worse is that I've probably agreed to a load of things in the past two hours.. Maybe I actually should pay attention to see where he's at..." _Naruto thought before focusing back on Hiashi.

"just not enough space on our side. You couldn't spare any seats could you?" Hiashi asked. Naruto mentally sighed with relief, thanking his luck that he had decided to tune in on this part of the conversation.

"Sure, I only have a few people on my side anyway; I should have nearly half my side free" Naruto agreed. Hiashi nodded and circled some seats on a diagram of the wedding layout with a pencil.

"Excellent. That's all I needed to run through you with, I hope you're prepared for this Naruto" Hiashi stated, looking at Naruto with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course I am!" Naruto smiled, giving Hiashi a thumbs up, making him roll his eyes.

"I'm just making sure. I don't want anything to go wrong during the wedding. Like you forgetting your vows..." Hiashi emphasised, making the blonde sigh.

"For the millionth time I've done my vows!" Naruto lied, trying not to buckle under the Hyuuga's gaze that seemed to last forever. When Hiashi finally looked back at the plans and started sorting them, Naruto let out the breath he had been holding in and looked at his lap. Ever since Hiashi explained to him what vows were, Naruto hadn't been able to make any. It was the only aspect of the wedding that he was actually nervous of. Sure, he had ideas for some, but when it came to writing them down he'd forget, or when something sounded good in his head, it looked terrible in writing. Whenever Hiashi asked to see his vows, Naruto would say that he didn't want to show anyone the vows; that he wanted to keep them for the wedding. Miraculously, the Hyuuga stood down this time, which was a hugs relief to Naruto.

"Then we are finished here" Hiashi stated, catching Naruto's attention. He almost cried out in relief, but stopped when Hiashi looked him in the eye. Naruto hated that; it meant that he wanted to talk about something serious. Hiashi closed his eyes before sighing, making Naruto freeze up in suspense.

"It's been a few weeks since my daughter has spent a night on the compound" Hiashi started. Naruto almost sighed with relief; he thought he was going to force Naruto to show him his vows.

"I would like it if she came back for a few nights. Your wedding is next week after all, and I hardly get to see her as often as I would like" Hiashi continued, but stopped to give Naruto a glare when a smile started to grow on his face.

"And if it was not possible for her to stay here alone... Then I will permit her to have company." Hiashi finished, cringing when he hesitantly spoke the final part. Naruto grinned widely and stood up, chuckling happily.

"That's great Hiashi! I haven't stayed here since the time you told Neiji to sleep in the same room as us!" Naruto laughed, thinking back to how they almost scarred Neiji with their silent love making to the point where he got fed up and left the room, and coincidentally went straight to Tenten's apartment. Hiashi sighed as he stood up, unfolding his arms and placing them at his side.

"Yes well... That tactic proved to be useless. I've now learned through experience that I need to trust you both. I do trust that you'll... behave appropriately whilst staying in our grounds?" Hiashi asked, giving Naruto a death glare before he could make a joke. Naruto chuckled sheepishly and just nodded, deciding not to wind up the Hyuuga; he learnt not to do that the hard way.

"I had best be going. If I run into any difficulties concerning the wedding I'll be sure to notify you" Hiashi added before leaving the room.

"_Please don't"_ Naruto mentally pleaded before following the Hyuuga out.

Naruto looked up at the star lit sky as he exited the Hyuuga compound. He began to enter his usual dream state, but was interrupted when a voice stopped him.

"Naruto!" Kakashi called, appearing in front of the blonde ninja, surprising him slightly.

"Kakashi! How's Shizune?" Naruto asked. He was just being polite asking how she was, but truth be told he was a bit pissed off that he had to deal with all the paperwork without an assistant (not that that was a problem anymore). When Kakashi was taken to the hospital by Yamato, Shizune made sure that she was Kakashi's personal nurse. From there, the two became inseparable and began dating. Only after a month of dating they announced that Shizune was pregnant! Naruto was happy for them at the time, but when Shizune requested time off, Naruto realised the impact that it had on his workload.

"She's fine thanks, but that's not what I wanted to talk about" Kakashi replied, waving his hand dismissively. Naruto raised an eye brow and nodded for Kakashi to continue.

"It's about Ino and Chouji..." Kakashi started, watching as Naruto's face dropped. They had been trying for a baby for the past few months, but they haven't been successful so far. The whole thing had been psychologically beating them, especially since everyone seems to be having children now. It got so bad once that Naruto had to excuse them from missions so that they could have time to collect themselves. Naruto could only imagine what had happened now.

"They finally did it" Kakashi smiled, his eye closing as it usually did when he gave his signature smile. Naruto's eyes widened in surprise as he processed the news; unable to believe what Kakashi was telling him. Eventually, Naruto snapped out of his stupor and grinned widely.

"That's great! Where are they now? I have to congratulate them!" Naruto exclaimed cheerfully.

"They're in the hospital right now. I was getting some things for Shizune there when I ran into Chouji and he told me the good news. He asked if I could tell anyone I passed on the way back" Kakashi explained to Naruto, placing his hand on his shoulder so that the blonde would calm down. Naruto nodded in understanding and looked up to the sky, thinking about all of his friends.

"It seems as though everyone's starting a family lately..." Naruto pondered, smiling as he thought about the news he just heard. Kakashi looked up at the full moon, thinking about his students and the rest of the rookie nine.

"Yeah... The new generation is coming sooner than I expected" Kakashi admitted, making Naruto look at him in agreement. When Kakashi realised that he had started to day dream, he looked back at Naruto and laughed sheepishly while scratching his nose.

"There again, being the pervert you are Naruto it was bound to happen sooner or later" Kakashi joked, making Naruto go red in the face. Before he could start ranting at his teacher, Kakashi smiled and waved goodbye before disappearing into a puff of smoke, leaving Naruto to mutter under his breath as he started to walk back home.

"_I'm the pervert? You're the one that always has his nose buried in those novels!" _Naruto thought as he walked with his hands buried in his pockets, pouting whilst he continued to mutter under his breath. As Naruto drew closer to his apartment, he cheered up as he thought about the good news he had to tell Hinata; he knew she'd appreciate it too. Naruto chuckled slyly at the last thought.

"_If she appreciates it a lot, then maybe she'll want to make love!" _Naruto thought, picking up his pace to a near sprint.

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**I would've put a lemon at the end, but I didn't really want to do a lemon with a pregnant Hinata in it... Maybe I'll put one in on the final chapter :P **

**I think this is my most narrative chapter (Where I've done the most talking), which I think is mainly because I wanted to wrap everything up with the other characters, hence the whole 'everyone being pregnant and happy' thing. **

**I must admit I'm not looking forward to doing the wedding in the next chapter, mainly because it won't be traditional (Japanese or Western), reason being I don't really know enough about those types to write about them, so I'll just wing it! Here's to hoping it'll work! **

**My other fanfic is doing well, it has really positive reviews! If you haven't heard of it, it's called the Arbitrator, and it's another Naruhina fic! But with an OC! I'd really appreciate it if you give it a read, it's not that bad I promise! **

**Anyway, keep an eye out for the final chapter next week! Thanks again everyone!**


	15. A New Beginning

**Well here it is! The last chapter of Confessions! I was toying with the idea of doing a sequel, but I decided against it. I'd just like to thank everyone who has stuck by me since the beginning, given me positive reviews and even helped better my story! This was an excellent experience, and I hoped you had as much fun reading the story as I did writing it! Without further delay, here's the last chapter of Confessions!**

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Naruto shifted his weight nervously before risking a glance backwards, instantly facing forward again when his gaze met a hundred others. It had felt like forever since Naruto stood by the altar to wait for his glorious bride to stride graciously down the aisle, when in reality it had been less than five minutes. He wiped a bead of sweat off of his forehead before it could reach his eyes; usually his forehead protector would absorb the sweat before Naruto even knew it existed, but no matter how much moaning or begging he did, Hiashi wouldn't let him wear it. It took a death threat and a beating from Sakura to finally 'persuade' him not to wear it, and another one of Sakura's 'talks' to make him wear the traditional white Hokage robe in place of his usual black and orange outfit. As he silently yearned for the comfort of his usual attire, he raised his hand to tilt the majorly restricting Hokage hat, but stopped when Sasuke gave him a death glare. Lowering his hand quickly, he grinned sheepishly at Sasuke, who sighed and smiled at the blonde, reassuring him that Hinata wouldn't be long. Naruto smiled back and nodded, facing forward when the Uchiha checked his pocket for what seemed like the millionth time, sighing with relief as he rediscovered that the rings were still there. Naruto looked down to stifle a laugh at the Uchiha's nervousness; he could swear that Sasuke was almost as nervous as he was. His stifled laugh was cut short though when he felt something pierce him mentally, as though someone was poking him with an invisible dagger. Naruto looked up slowly to meet the warning gaze of Gaara, who was stood behind the altar, narrowing his eyes at the blonde. Since weddings in Konoha between important clans were ushered by the Hokage, and Naruto obviously couldn't usher his own wedding, he had asked Gaara to step in and do the honours. Usually at a Hokage's wedding the previous Hokage would do the honours, but since there were none alive, Gaara was a 'logical choice', to quote Hiashi. Naruto didn't mind, in fact he would've made the same choice himself. Naruto smiled gingerly at Gaara, who stopped his warning gaze and replaced it with a rare smile. Gaara was still his emotionless self, but lately he looked less threatening and actually smiled once in a while. This was due to a secret marriage between himself and Matsuri; a pupil of his. The Suna council wouldn't let him marry someone who didn't belong to a prestigious clan, so Naruto offered to usher them secretly in Konoha, to which Gaara was extremely grateful.

He was broken out of the memories of Gaara's secret wedding when the familiar organ music filled the hall, silencing the whispers of the crowd. The music sent a shiver down Naruto's spine as realisation set in; it was finally time. He turned to look down the end of the hall, his heart stopping when he saw the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. No, it wasn't the Hyuuga head that was smiling proudly as he held his head high, trying looking as though he wasn't fighting back tears; it was the goddess that was holding onto his arm. The flowing white dress danced loosely around her legs as she walked down the aisle, resting her free hand on her pregnant stomach. Her dress was tailored perfectly to fit her pregnant frame as it not only allowed more room for her stomach, but mounted her huge breasts perfectly. Naruto shook his head before his eyes stared at her cleavage for too long; Hiashi would kill him if he caught him staring at his daughter's breasts, even in the middle of a wedding ceremony. He looked up to meet her gaze behind her thin veil, her lavender orbs holding tears of joy, her smile the biggest Naruto had ever seen it. The sight brought tears to Naruto's own eyes as he grinned proudly, wiping the tears from his eyes before they could fall. As Hinata drew closer, Naruto turned to face the front, catching more than a few gaping mouths and jealous whispers, making him grin gratefully. When Hinata finally stood by his side, Hiashi stood in front of her and lifted her veil, kissing her forehead as he whispered a few words, making Hinata's smile quiver as tears ran down her face which Hiashi quickly caught with his sleeve before turning to incline his head at Naruto and sitting down on his reserved seat.

The hushed whispers vanished as soon as Naruto looked into Hinata's lavender orbs and entwined his fingers with hers. Naruto smiled warmly when Hinata smiled at him and felt her stomach; their lives felt too good to be true right now. They both faced forward when Gaara cleared his throat, smiling at the pair before raising his arms in front of him.

"We are gathered here today to witness a marriage that is important in many aspects. Many would say that this marriage would symbolise the joining of two great powers, that it signifies the beginning of a new era, but I disagree. When I look at the couple in front of me today, I see that this marriage doesn't symbolise the joining of two powers, but the joining of true love. Today we will see them swear themselves to each other, we will see them declare their love for one another, and we will see what started out as a bold confession turn into a commitment that will have the couple live out the rest of their lives together" Gaara announced, making Hinata blush slightly at the memory of her confession. His speech had brought tears to more than a few eyes, mainly the pregnant ninja who were at the mercy of their hormones. When Gaara had finished his speech, he nodded at Sasuke who dug into his pocket and brought out two wedding rings, placing them on the altar. When Sasuke had resumed his position, grinning at Naruto on the way, Gaara resumed the ceremony.

"These two rings will symbolise the couple's love; it shows that their love has no beginning and no end. The gold symbolises the value and the durability of their love. It is a symbol of the promise and it is a sign to the world that you are wed and therefore off limits." Gaara continued, earning some laughter from the crowd as the couple walked up to the altar and picked up the other's ring.

"Naruto, can you please place the ring on Hinata's finger, and when you do state your vows" Gaara instructed, raising an eyebrow when the blonde gulped nervously. Luckily Hinata didn't notice; she was too captivated by the ring that was being placed on her finger. When the ring was in place, Naruto took a deep breath and looked straight into her eyes, smiling before announcing his vows.

"I, Naruto Uzumaki, take you Hinata Hyuuga to be my wife; my one true love. You are the most beautiful, smart, and generous person I have ever known, and I promise to cherish you with an undying love that you deserve. I love you Hinata Hyuuga" Naruto smiled, holding her gaze the whole time to show that he truly meant it. Fresh tears began to collect in her eyes, but Naruto wiped them away before they could fall, savouring the feel of her flawless cheek.

"Hinata, can you please place the ring on Naruto's finger and state your vows" Gaara instructed. Hinata nodded and placed the ring on Naruto's finger before looking into his eyes, his crystal blue eyes piercing her soul.

"Naruto, I promise to love and care for you and I will try in every way to be worthy of your love. I will always be honest with you, kind, patient, and forgiving. But most of all, I promise to be a true and loyal friend to you. I love you Naruto Uzumaki" Hinata sniffed, fighting back a flood of tears. Naruto smiled, unable to speak through the lump in his throat, his vision becoming blurry as tears gathered in his eyes.

"Now that the two have stated their vows, is there anyone here who would protest to these two joining together in marriage?" Gaara announced, the silence answering his question. He knew that no one in the room would protest from the humble expressions and teary eyes that filled the room. Letting out another rare smile, Gaara raised his arms and looked at the emotional faces that filled the hall.

"Since there are no protests, I now pronounce Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuuga to be officially wed! You may kiss the bride Naruto!" Gaara exclaimed, joining in with the cheering of the crowd as Naruto cupped Hinata's cheek and kissed her deeply.

_**-Time skip-**_

Naruto ran down the clinically white halls of the hospital as he scanned the room numbers frantically, making several patients heads turn in confusion.

"224! 224!" Naruto shouted, cursing under his breath as he passed room 220. Hinata's pain filled cries echoed throughout the halls, making his eyes widen as he realised the birth had started. Skidding to a halt outside of her door, he jumped in and landed by her side, instantly holding her hand in his. She smiled weakly at his presence, squeezing his hand slightly as she heavily panted.

"Naruto! Where have you been?" Sakura exclaimed from the other side of the room. She would have punched him for being late, but since she was in the late stages of pregnancy she just gave Naruto an evil glare.

"Sorry, I was just finishing up a meeting with Gaara; I raced here as fast as I could when word reached me about Hinata" Naruto apologized, turning his attention back to Hinata as she screamed in pain again, squeezing his hand even harder. Naruto winced from the pain but ignored it; he knew that complaining about his pain would be stupid. Compared to Hinata's pain it was nothing.

"From Suna? You made a two day trip in an hour? That technique really does come in use!" Sakura exclaimed between giving nurses instructions. Even though she was in no condition to work, Sakura insisted on helping with Hinata's birth; Naruto didn't know whether it was because of stubbornness or curiosity of the pain of pregnancy, but whatever the reason he felt reassured that Sakura would be helping with the birth.

Naruto watched a nurse whisper something to Sakura as he comforted Hinata, his eyes widening in fear when Sakura's eyes widened.

"Impossible! We're only two hours in!" Sakura protested, the nurse frowning as she took a step back.

"What's wrong? Is the baby okay?" Naruto asked hesitantly, comforting Hinata as the tone in his voice alerted her. Sakura instructed the nurses further before turning to Naruto and smiling.

"Everything should be fine, the baby's just going to be here a lot earlier than we thought" Sakura informed him, making Naruto grin and tell Hinata the news. She smiled weakly before letting out another pain filled cry, causing Sakura to prep herself by Hinata's legs.

"That's it Hinata! One more push!" Sakura instructed. Hinata replied by breathing heavily before pushing with all her might, squeezing Naruto's hand even tighter, causing the blonde to kneel in pain. However, soon after she pushed a baby's cry filled the room as fresh air entered its lungs for the first time. A nurse stood next to Sakura and wrapped the baby in a blanket before placing it on Hinata's chest.

"Well done! It's a boy!" Sakura smiled before dismissing some of the nurses and telling the others to clean up. Naruto's eyes widened as he saw the newborn on Hinata's chest flail and cry as she held it in her arms, smiling proudly at him.

"A-a-a b-boy?" Naruto stuttered, captivated at the sight of his child. Hinata smiled as she raised the child, signalling for Naruto to hold him. Naruto instinctively held the child, staring into his tiny pink orbs as they wondered around the room. Naruto wanted to speak, but he was speechless as he stared into his child's eyes.

"Thought of any names yet?" Sakura asked, breaking Naruto out of his stupor. Naruto smiled and looked at Hinata, who nodded at him as if agreeing to something. Naruto looked back up at Sakura and grinned his usual cheesy grin which seemed to have lost most of its childishness that it held in Sakura's memories.

"_No, not childishness. Those cheesy grins were fake. They always hid his true emotions. The difference between now and then is that... He really is happy" _Sakura thought to herself as she smiled inwardly, happy for Naruto and his happiness.

"Well we both agreed that if it was a girl, Hinata could name her, but I'd get to name the boy!" Naruto stared, pausing to look at the newborn child in his eyes.

"I'm going to name him after Dad. His name is Minato... Minato Uzumaki."

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**Well that's it! Sorry if it's a bit short, but I couldn't really think of anything else to put in, plus I personally liked where it ended to continue on or whatever. Should I do a sequel? Or shouldn't I? Tell me what you think! Bear in mind that if I do make a sequel, it won't be out for a month or a few months (exams and whatnot) **

**Anyways, reviews are appreciated, thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far, I really appreciate it! **

**I've really had fun writing this fanfic, and I didn't really expect it to turn out as popular as it did, but I'm glad it did I'm glad that people enjoyed it and found it a good read. Keep an eye out for any other stories I might do!**

**Aza out ~**


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